Adventure of a Life Time
by Miko in training
Summary: We all know about how Hiccup trained with Toothless and brought peace to his village. But what if something happened to Berk 16 Years ago. And what if another island had a similar problem but things turned out differently. this is about two teens that go on an adventure to find out the truth. along the way they face problems, danger, and gain more enemy's and a home on Berk.
1. The Meeting

"Grab your Axes! The Dragons are attacking!" A man with a full brunette beard yelled to the Vikings behind him. He was tall and very muscular like all Vikings were.

Narrator: 'This is Gurand it's just east of the main shore and south of freezing to death. My name is Skullette. Weird name I know, parents believe that a horrible name will scare off demons and trolls, like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that already. This probably sounds like a story you already know, am I right? A story of Viking's and Dragons.'

"They are headed to the south of the island! Follow them! We can't let them get away!" Another, taller, man called. He was large and looked to be the chief of the village with his metal around his waist as a belt. His brown beard was full and braded in many places to keep it in place and his eyes were dark green and intimidating.

Narrator: 'That is Bundar the Wise. He is the chief of this village. They say that when he was a child he killed two dragons from the inside out. Do I believe it? Yes, yes I do. Anyways, if this is familiar, you know that there are a bunch of different dragons. The Gronkle, the Deadly Nadder, the Monstrous Nightmare, the Hideous Zippleback, the Terrible Terror, and finally the most dangerous of all. The Night Fury! No one has ever seen this dragon and lived to tell about it.'

"Skullette get back inside! This is no place for you!" a woman Viking yelled as she followed the others.

"Get back inside before you get hurt!" a smaller man a little younger than the others yelled. He was a newly acquired Viking and was itching to kill another dragon.

Narrator: 'I couldn't just sit by and not kill a dragon. Everyone believes I can't kill a dragon because of what happened. Oh right, you don't know what happened. I caught the village on fire. By accident. No one was hurt and I got the fire out. But the villagers won't let me try to kill a dragon till I have proper dragon training. But that won't happen until spring.'

Skullette followed behind unnoticed by the others. She followed them to the southern side of the island. They were cheering now as the last of the dragons fell from the sky and landed on a pointed like spear of wood. Letting out its final breath as its body slid down the spike and its blood flowed from its pierced body.

Narrator: 'Recently the dragon problem has decreased due to the idea of poisoning the food the dragons take. This was of course our chief's idea. The poison was created by the herbs my mother taught me about before the cold, 5 winters past took her. I was only eleven when she left us. In any case the poison worked I guess because the dragon raids decreased.'

All the villagers gathered any dead Vikings and headed back home to rest their axes and body's from the late night raid they just ended.

Narrator: 'I should have followed them back or gotten there before them. But something caught my eye that would change my life forever. A Night Fury.'

**Well this is a new way of starting a story isn't it. So I'll just cut to the chase. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon and I just found out today that they are making a sequel! But it isn't coming out till 2013. In the mean time, tell me what you think of this story and I'll try to keep it going or my beta will go ape on me. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

Skullette, a 5' 6" 16 year old girl with dark blond hair in a braded ponytail and piercing blue eyes that looked like they could see into your very soul, quietly made her way to a wide clearing that was twenty feet below her and a good sixty feet wide if not more. She wore a tight blue colored skin shirt with a black leather skirt and leggings under it, with normal Viking boots to finish it off. She was skinny for a Viking her age but you could tell she did have enough muscle to get her by. A pack of supplies and small weapons were stationed on her back in case one would need use of them. Below her was a small pond in the middle of the hole with snow and a few trees surrounding the pond. The rocks were covered in moss that was covered by the snow that stuck to everything there. It was only when she got closer that she saw, lying in a bed of melted snow, the Night Fury that had caught her eye only moments ago.

Its Wings were as black as the night and its body was small and light. There was no doubt in her mind that this creature was as swift and powerful as it looked. What confused her was why had no one yelled that they had killed the Night Fury? A prize like that would make a Viking a hero among Viking legends. So why was there no mention of this?

As she got closer she could see that the dragon still had life in it due to the puffs of smoke that came from its nostrils. If she were to kill this dragon and bring its heart back to her father, all of her worries would be over. No one would look at her with shame and disappointment ever again.

She quickly made her way over to the dragon and removed her dagger from her belt. As she got closer she saw that this Night Fury would not move from its spot. It had clearly heard her from the snow crushing beneath her feet as she got closer to it so why had it not flown away. Its wings were still intact and it looked as if it was in excellent health. So why did it not get away?

As she finally reached the side of the dragon she could hear from its harsh breathing that it was not in perfect health. Something was wrong with it, but what? That's when it hit her. The Poison! The dragon had taken in the poison from the previous raid. It must have landed here when the poison had started to overtake it. That shouldn't matter at the moment seeing as she was just going to kill it anyways. But as she looked into its bright green eyes she saw something that she never thought she would see. She saw its pain and its fear. It was scared and looking for any help it could receive.

Skullette turned away from the dragons gaze and held her dagger high above her head. A gruff whine like noise came from the dragon as if begging for her to stop and help it instead of slaying it. She couldn't help it, she looked at the dragons eyes again. There was a glimmer that spoke to her. "If I kill you and bring your heart to my father, all will be right again. No one will call me weak and a nuisance, I will be a strong Viking warrior." She said to the dragon holding the dagger tighter and over the dragons' heart.

Another whine pierced the air around them. Puffs of smoke coming from the Night Fury's nose. Skullette closed her eyes and readied to strike down on the black demon. At the feel of the dragons head hitting the ground a wave of pity filled her. This dragon was in pain and needed help yet she was a Viking and Vikings killed Dragons! Dragons are the devils kin and Vikings were sent here to destroy them and send them back to Hel.

She took one more look at the dragon before sighing in defeat. She couldn't kill this creature. It needed her, for no one else would help it. She quickly took her pack off her back and dug through it. The dragon's eyes opened at the sound of the ruffling, Skullette continued to dig through the pack to get what she needed which seemed to be buried at the bottom of her bag.

She created an antidote for the poison in case any of the Vikings ate the poisoned food by accident. It came in handy and worked many times, but would it work on a dragon?

She finally found the bottle and took a good look to see how much was in there. Then she took another look at the dragon. Its eyes showed its wonder as it watched her intently. It could easily swipe her away with its tail if it wanted to, but since it was in such pain it couldn't move very easily.

"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you. This will make you better, I promise. And if it doesn't you can eat me." Skullette promised as she stood up and went over to the pond.

A fish jumped out of the opening in the ice into the air and back down into the icy water. She waited for another one to jump, it felt like forever as she did so. Finally another one jumped and she caught it with little trouble falling on her rear as she held the fish to her chest tightly. She waited for it to stop struggling and went back over to the Night Fury.

"This will help you take the antidote, okay? It might hurt a little going down but it will help." Skullette said as she cut the fish in half and put the herbal medicine into the tail end of the fish. She walked up to the Dragons mouth and had it open its mouth for her. She placed the fish on the dragon's tongue whose teeth a moment later appeared in its mouth and began chewing the meaty fish.

The Night Fury ate the fish completely and rested its head in the snow again.

"Skullette!" A distant voice called. The girl spun around to make sure no one had found where the dragon was. Lucky for her she was alone with the dragon. Turning quickly back to the dragon, who looked to be sleeping peacefully, she whispered in its ear. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how you are doing. I'll even bring some more antidote with me. If you stay here you won't be discovered."

"Skullette!" A deeper voice rang out through the trees.

"I'll be back soon. I promise. See you tomorrow." With that she hurried back up the path she found her way down on and made her way back to the village only to run into the chief.

"Skullette where did you go off too? Didn't I tell you to stay inside?" Bundar said in a commanding voice.

Narrator: 'oh yeah, there's one thing I forgot to mention.'

"Sorry Dad, I thought I saw another dragon. But it turned out to be a broken branch from the raid last week." Skullette lied hanging her head to make it believable.

"What am I going to do with you?" Bundar sighed in frustration. "Thank the gods spring is on its way. You will learn to be a True Viking! No more of this running off and medicine nonsense."

"But father without this medicine half of our village would be whipped out." Skullette countered.

"Be that as it may you are the daughter of the chief and as so need to learn to be a true Viking. Leave the herbal nonsense to the other women. You must be strong if you plan to ever marry. You are already at that age. I at least want to have a strong son in law to run the village when I am gone." Bundar replied as they made their way to the village. His stride was strong and commanding just like his speech.

"Please father not this again. I'm still too young to marry." Skullette tried to reason.

"Nonsense. You will be a strong Viking warrior and be wed to only the strongest of the Vikings."

"But father…" Skullette tried again to reason but she was cut off by Bundar the Wise.

"That is the end of it. Am I understood?" He said in a commanding voice that left no room for argument.

"Yes father." Skullette said dispersedly.

Skullette went to the dragon everyday to feed it fish and the antidote. It had taken the rest of the winter but soon the dragon, who Skullette had discovered was a she, was able to stand and flap its wings. To Skullette's amazement the white on the tips of her wings, that she had once thought to be snow, glittered in the sunlight making the Night Fury even more beautiful than before.

"How can such a strong creature be fierce and beautiful at the same time?" Skullette wondered aloud.

The Night Fury nudged her arm and purred lightly in a light gruff voice.

"You know, I can't keep calling you Night Fury all the time. You need a real name. How about Nightingale? How does that sound?" Skullette asked.

She purred louder in agreement.

"Nightingale it is then." She smiled at her new friend and scratched behind her ear.

Finally spring had arrived. Since meeting Nightingale, Skullette has changed her mind about fighting dragons. They aren't as bad as the Vikings made them out to be. They hunt to survive like they did. Vikings just happened to be in their way more than they would like.

When she tried to tell her father she didn't want to fight dragons. He laughed and told her "This is no time for joke's you are going to training and are going to be a prized Viking that any strong man would want for a bride."

'_That's all he ever cares about. Marring me off to some strong Viking.'_ Skullette thought on her way to visit Nightingale.

The Night Fury had long since done without the antidote and could fly away at anytime. The only reason Skullette could come up with for why she hadn't left yet, is that Nightingale had become attached to her. She respected her and trusted her. But this island was not safe for the Night Fury. There was only so long that a person can hide a giant creature such as a dragon. She thought of all of this on her way to visit Nightingale and only stopped when she arrived at the hide out.

"Morning Nightingale. Did you sleep well?" She asked putting down a big basket of fish for her to enjoy. Nightingale just jogged over to the basket with a grin on her face and started eating happily.

"I guess that will suffice for a yes." Skullette chuckled. She sat down on a rock and rolled small stones around in her hands. "You know. My father won't let up on this marriage thing. He thinks that all I'm good for is getting him a good son in law to lead the tribe." At the word tribe she threw a stone across the pond and on to the other side in only a matter of two skips. Which was a feet seeing as the pond covered most of the hiding area. Two thirds of the area was water and the last third was land.

Nightingale went over to her and nudged her head against Skullette's arm as if to comfort her.

"Thanks Nightingale. It's good to know I have at least one friend." She said scratching behind her ear and down to her chin. Finding just the spot to have Nightingale fall in pure pleasure.

Skullette smiled at Nightingale's reaction and got up off her rock. "I guess it's time for training. I'll be back afterwards, okay Nightingale?" she smiled at the dragon who stayed where she was in bliss.

Making her way back to the village she managed to get to the arena with little problem. It was a large dome like arena with metal bars surrounding it and chains covering the top to keep the dragons from flying away when released for fighting or training. Once there, she saw a bunch of other teens her age gathered together for training. They stationed themselves around the training equipment so that when the teacher showed up they could grab their needed gear and get started. There were four gathered together talking excitedly about how it's only fun if you get a scare out of it.

Then there was a boy leaning against the wall close to the entrance ramp. He looked to be about 5' 9" medium build with sparkling green eyes and long blond hair kept in a ponytail with a portion at the front separated, not tied back and hanging off the right side of his face. He wore dark brown leather tight pants, with the standard fur boots all Vikings wore, and a dark blue long sleeved shirt and a black vest over it to finish it off. In his hands he held a sword that he carefully examined as they waited.

Skullette watched him for a moment longer before an irritating voice brought her back to reality.

"Well if it isn't miss fire head." Torrent said tauntingly. He was about 5'8" with a strong build, brown short hair and piercing brown eyes. He wore black leather pants, a tan shirt ripped at the forearm and a brown vest covering it. He was one of the toughest Viking teens in the village, or so they say.

"You aren't going to set the arena on fire now are you?" Mudbath called mockingly.

"Watch it bro she might set you on fire next." Hogsnot laughed with Mudbath joining in. They were twin brothers, both about 5' 9" with dark blond hair and matching blue eyes. The only way to tell them apart was their hair style. Mudbath had a messy mop of short hair on his head while Hogsnot had mid-length hair in a ponytail. They had matching boots, brown pants and green shirts, the only other difference was their vests. Mudbath had the brown vest while Hogsnot had the tan vest. And both were about a medium build.

"Hey guys, how many Vikings does it take to destroy a village?" Gretchen asked, she was the only girl in the group. She had red hair that she kept down and straight. Skullette figured it kept her neck warm. Gretchen had on the normal boots and black pants. Over the pants she had a short leather skirt with skulls in a belt to hold it up. For a shirt she had on a tight red shirt and silver armor breast plates to protect her.

"How many?" Torrent, Mudbath, and Hogsnot asked together.

"None, it just takes one insignificant wanna be Viking. Trying to be something she's not." Gretchen threw the insult into Skullette's face as everyone in the group laughed.

"At least I'm not pig headed like some people I know!" Skullette shot at the group making them go quiet.

"What did you just say pipsqueak?" Gretchen asked towering over her. Where Skullette was 5'6". Gretchen was 5' 9" making Skullette the shortest in the arena and to them, the most vulnerable.

"Alright that's enough out of the lot of ya. Today ya start Dragon Training. Now ya have to know what kinds of Dragons there are. Who wants to start us off?" A big man with beefy arms asked. He was missing his left leg and an eye but that was about it. He was big around the middle and was about 6' tall. He had a tan vest and a sharp green eye. Normal outfit as well, brown pants, tan shirt, brown vest, and normal boots. "My name is Olaf and I'll make this quick. Since no one wants to share I will. There are 5 types that we face every day. The Gronkle, the Deadly Nadder, the Terrible Terror, the Monstrous Nightmare, and the Hideous Zippleback. You will all face them in time. So to start us off is the Gronkle."

"Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?" Torrent asked in confusion.

"I believe in learning on the job." He said as he opened the cage door.

Out came a Gronkle. "Every dragon has a shot limit. How many does a Gronkle have?"

"Four!" Mudbath called. "Five" Hogsnot said after.

"Six." The boy with the black vest said as a shot came at him and he dodged out of the way.

"Very Good Gunnar." Olaf said praising the young man.

The lesson continued on until all that was left were two shots for the dragon and two Viking in training students left. Skullette who had been hiding most of the time and Gunnar who had been dodging most of the time and getting everyone else kicked out with the aimed fire blasts from the Gronkle.

"Skullette, what else can you do to stop the Gronkle?" Olaf asked as if he was sure she could answer it.

Skullette thought for a moment in her hiding spot when Gunnar came up beside her. "Try water." He said before moving to another area. A shot was hit to the wooden planks that hid Skullette. The shot had destroyed the wood leaving her open for an attack.

Thinking quickly she used her hand and acting as if she was about to hit it with her shield scratched under its chin with her opposite hand.

As the dragon fell she saw Gunnar stop in his tracks with his sword held high in the air, ready to strike the beast down. Behind him everyone was in awe of what she did. Out of reflex Mudbath punched his brother in the face, who he had been fighting with for getting them knocked out of the arena in the first place. Torrent had his mouth nearly on the floor while Gretchen looked ready to kill Skullette using just her eyes as the weapon.

"Uh… is that it for the day? Cause I really need to um… yeah, see you tomorrow!" She called as she ran across the arena up the ramp and into the fresh air leaving every one confused.

Olaf was the first to react. He walked over to the sleeping dragon and put it back in its cage before turning to the other students. "That's it for the day. I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning. Have a good day." He too made his way up the ramp and back to his blacksmith shop.

"She can't be that good." Gretchen said in anger.

"It was probably just a lucky shot." Torrent said trying to figure out how the fire starter took down a dragon with a shield in a single shot.

"In any case. It won't happen again." Gretchen seethed making the others back away from her slightly.

In the mean time Gunnar was trying to figure out how Skullette could have taken down a Gronkle with a single hit to the head with her shield. It wasn't possible… was it?

Skullette was making her way through the trees to the spot she first saved Nightingale. Today had just been crazy. She of all people made a Gronkle fall without causing it any harm. She has to be more careful next time or people will start to get suspicious of her actions and possibly get the wrong idea. Or worse, they could follow her and find Nightingale. She couldn't let that happen. Not even if it meant her life.

**Okay that's it for this chapter. My hands hurt. A 7000+ one-shot followed by this story. anyone would think I was crazy. I question my own sanity at times if it makes you people feel any better. Lol… anyway please review. I could really use the input of other readers or writers. Thanks.**


	2. Training

**I don't own How To Train Your Dragon and I never will. Not much else to say so please Read and Review after. Thanks.**

**Chapter 2: Training**

It was just another day in Gurand. Hail falling from the sky making everyone stay inside. Everyone that is, except Skullette. While her father was away in the dining hall and stuck there till the storm stopped, Skullette was making her way through the storm to get to Nightingale.

In a wide open area like that it left little room for shelter. So she ran through the storm to get to Nightingale. In her arms she held a large hide of what was once a bear. Probably two, due to the size of it, sown together to make a strong cover.

As she reached the entrance of the hide out she could see Nightingale curled up under the small group of trees closest to the other side of the area. She quickly made her way from the entrance and around the pond to the dragon. As she reached her she took a deep breath and laid the hide over the strong dragon.

The Night Fury just watched in wonder, green eyes wide with curiosity, as Skullette went to work collecting sticks long enough and strong enough to weather the storm. Skullette kept an eye on the dragon as she did so. Making sure she was alright and warm.

Once she found about five thick branches strong enough to lift the now heavy, ice covered, hide; she placed the two longer branches at the back which was closest to the rock wall. Next she put the three medium sized branches in front. This left air to breath to come in safely and keep the hail and wind out at the same time.

Once she finished setting it up, Skullette went out to inspect it. Making sure none of the branches would fall and that Nightingale would not suffocate. It was good enough to make do for now. After the storm she would have to look for a better hiding spot for Nightingale when this bad weather comes again.

In the mean time she would just have to do with what she's got. Walking back under the hide she sits down to catch her breath against a small rock so as not to get Nightingale cold with her freezing back.

That plan soon failed as Nightingale lifted her up with her dragon tail and placed Skullette against her shoulder, covering the girl with her wing like a blanket. To Skullette it was like sitting down in front of the fire back home. The home she knew years ago when her mother was still alive. It was safe and warm, like nothing could disturb the peace that was there.

Nightingale laid her head against Skullette's right arm and whined softly as if to ask if she was alright.

"Thank you, Nightingale. I'm just glad you're safe." The girl rested her head against the dragons left shoulder and they watched as the hail kept falling down around them.

Hours after the storm had passed Skullette awoke to find the sun setting in the distance.

"Oh no. Father is going to be so angry with me." Skullette said as she quickly took down the hide covering that was still covered in a small layer of ice. Small because some of the ice had melted in the sun. "I'll be back tomorrow Nightingale. And I'll bring you a big basket of fish too." Skullette yelled to the dragon as she made her way back to the village. She heard a faint happy growl come from Nightingale as she reached the top of the area.

As she hurried back home she stopped for a moment to gather some rare herbs that can only be collected after a good hail storm. Doing this makes it look like she went out to gather herbs rather than just being out for no reason.

Once she was done she held the herb close to her and made her way back to her house. She first stopped at the back of the house to deposit the hide and get her herbal basket and fill it with the herbs she found. That done she went the long way around to the front of the house calmly so as not to make it look like she was hiding anything.

She opened the door and stepped inside closing the door behind her. As she turned around, she saw in the middle of the room, poking at the fire, her father. A look unreadable to her on his face. She tried to make her way around him quietly but that was not to be.

"Skullette. Where have you been? When I got home I was expecting to see you working or cleaning an axe. Instead I find the house empty and the fire nearly out." Bundar said angrily.

"I'm sorry father. I went to pick herbs. I can only get these after a hail storm. The hail brakes up the ground revealing the roots which it the important part of the herb that is needed. Any other time it can't be reached seeing as the ground is too tough." Skullette explained.

"Not this again. I have told you Skullette. No more Herbs, which means I don't want you in those woods alone anymore! Leave the medicines to the other women! You need to train and become a strong Viking! I will hear no more of this!" The strictness in Bundar's voice nearly made Skullette shake in her boots. He towered over her at a near 7' tall.

Skullette hung her head in shame. "I understand father."

"No, I don't believe you do. I am going on a voyage to finish these beasts off once and for all. While I am gone I have ordered someone to watch over you." Bundar told his daughter.

Skullette looked up at him in horror. He was treating her like a child and asking her to be a Viking! Instead of glaring at her father and earning a deadly glare in return she merely asked, "And who might I ask, would that be?" Her voice was calm while her temper was growing with rage.

"Gunnar." He replied leaving again no room for argument. "He will be here early in the morning to take you to dragon training." Bundar said picking up his pack and tossing it onto his back. "Train hard. I'll be back, probably."

"I'll be here." Skullette said as the door closed on her. "Maybe." She growled as she placed the herbs in the storage room. It had a variety of frozen meet and herbs in it. The meat was for those days one couldn't leave to get to the dining hall for breakfast or dinner. Seeing as winter has just ended there was only a half thawed lamb leg and ribs inside. The rest was all herbs.

"How could he do this to me!" She yelled slamming a bowl down as she prepared to make more antidote. Bundar had ordered more poisoned food and since the only one with the knowledge of the antidote was her. She alone had to make it.

She went against her father's wishes to teach it to the other women and kept the knowledge to herself. She put together the needed leaves and roots to make the mixture complete. She then proceeded to mash the juices out of the hard pine needles into the mixture. This made the mixture stick together in clumps so that it is easier to digest.

Once she was finished, she bottled it and went out to the Dining hall. Because of the storm Dragon training had been canceled until tomorrow. Unfortunately, that meant that they had to face two dragons tomorrow.

The walk to the dining hall was cold and lonely. Everyone avoided her, ever since she set the village on fire it had been this way. They even dubbed her Skullette the Firetamer, for during that fire she was able to move through the blaze with little to no trouble. She even had to save a few people and get them out of their houses when others could not.

Now, she was just avoided. No one wanted to face a fire like that again. She was never allowed to touch any torch or even enter the Blacksmith shop. The only fire she could touch was the one back at her house. No one dared let her touch any other flame.

As she entered the hall, the Vikings that were left got out of her way and never made eye contact with her. She made her way over to the Dragon Training group and took a plate of food that was left for her and went to another table to eat while Olaf asked where each of them went wrong in yesterday's training session.

"Where did Skullette go wrong?" Olaf asked.

"She showed up?" Mudbath laughed along with his brother Hogsnot.

"She didn't catch the place on fire." Torrent said mockingly.

'_Low blow jerk.'_ Skullette thought to herself as she picked at her food.

"She never moves when she should." The voice was calm with no humor in it. Skullette glanced over at who had spoken for a moment. What she saw was the rest of the students staring at Gunnar. He was the one who had spoken. What he had said was like he was telling a child they did something wrong and need to fix it.

His tone of voice was what made her blood boil again. He was mocking her silently right now. He had to watch her like a child that misbehaves and he was enjoying it! She looked away before any of them could see the anger in her eyes.

"Thank you Gunnar. Ya need to live and breathe this stuff. It's our Viking way. Now I want you all to get a good night's sleep. There won't be a raid tonight." Olaf limped away as everyone started talking again.

"Do you think they will find the nest this time?" Torrent asked leaning into the group of four.

"Oh please, they might get close." Mudbath said.

"But they won't find it. That only leaves us." Hogsnot continued.

"To finish them off next time." Mudbath finished. The twins often did this. Finished and started the other's sentences.

"What do you think Gunnar?" Gretchen asked flirtatiously turning to where he was, only to find him gone. "Gunnar?" she called.

The door to the hall opened and all four turned to see Gunnar leaving.

"Gunnar wait for me!" Gretchen called running after him, the others following like baby dragons to its mother.

Skullette sighed as she picked at her food some more. She wasn't feeling too hungry. Who would, first to find out you can't be alone in the woods anymore and then that you are assigned a babysitter? By Thor's beard, she was 16 years old and she wasn't allowed to have the little freedom she was granted left before she was married off to the greatest of all the Vikings her father could find? And worst of all. No woods, meant no Nightingale.

This realization hit her hard now. She planted her hands on the table and stood up so abruptly that it startled everyone left in the hall. Her eyes were wide at this new found development. She could never be with Nightingale again, if her father had his way. Her hand's slid off the table and she moved slowly to the door in a haze. She could hear whispering all around her but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Her mind was too hazy to understand. All she knew was that she may never see Nightingale ever again.

She opened the door to the hall and closed it behind her making her way back home. The whispering continued as she went on her way. When she finally reached her house instead of seeing the bottom of the door she saw feet which brought her out of her trance. Looking up she saw the last person she wanted to see. Gunnar.

Inside Skullette was starting a fire in the fireplace and to her amazement, Gunnar never even flinched. She sat down on the opposite side of the fire and waited for a moment to see if he was going to speak first.

Silence filled the air for a long moment.

"Why are you here?" Skullette finally asked. She never did like waiting for too long for someone to explain themselves. At least, not when she was in this kind of mood she didn't.

"Your father ordered me to watch after you." He said glancing up at her.

"Yeah, he also said that you would come tomorrow early in the morning. So what are you doing here now?" She corrected him.

"Ah, but your father's orders are exactly why I'm here now." Gunnar said poking the fire.

"Explain." Skullette ordered. She may have to one day marry a strong Viking but right now this was her house seeing as he father was out at sea.

"My, my aren't we feisty." Gunnar chided.

"I said explain, or leave!" Skullette yelled at him. Her anger was over powering all other emotions at the moment. It was true that she did have a crush on the smooth talker but finding out that she was being banned from her only friend in the world was over powering any feelings she may have had at the moment.

"Fine, but first tell me something. How do you feel about this situation?" he asked looking into her eyes.

She steadied herself as his green eyes shined in the fire light as they looked at her. "Which situation. The one where you are in my house, or the one about my father trying to control my life?" She asked a light blush coming to her face. Weather in anger or embarrassment she couldn't tell.

"Both." He said grinning at her now.

He was mocking her again. Or teasing her. Either way he was enjoying her torture. "If you must know, both make me want to truly run away and never return." She yelled standing up angrily. She wouldn't stand for anyone mocking her in her own home. Not even Gunnar.

"Good." Gunnar said smiling. Which confused the hell out of Skullette making her sit back down to try and understand better.

"Explain." She said calmly.

"If you truly don't want me watching you every moment of the day, just say so. I have much better things I could be doing with my time. Like training."

At the word training Skullette's anger rose again but she stifled it quickly so she didn't cause suspicion. "I'm listening."

The grin on Gunnar's face grew. "I know that you're hiding something. Something big in those woods. I saw you this morning running out into the woods with that big skin in your arms. Now before you go crazy on me, wait until I'm finished." He said as he watched Skullette go for her knife. "I don't know what you're hiding but by the look on your face when you arrived home I would have to say that whatever is in those woods is more precious to you than your tribe and your father. Am I right?" He asked.

A stern nod, and a look that spoke seriousness, from Skullette was all the answer he needed before continuing. "Then how about this. I pick you up every morning and take you to dragon training. Afterwards, we leave come here you grab whatever you need we go out to the woods and if anyone asks, we are training. Me being a weapons expert, it wouldn't raise any alarm."

The sound of this plan just got better and better but one thing bothered her.

"You aren't going to follow me once we are so far into the woods are you?" she asked, for Nightingale needs to stay a secret. No matter what.

"I won't follow you. We actually both get a good deal out of this. You get to go and do whatever and I get away from those crazy teens. What's that girl's name again?"

A giggle slipped past Skullette's lips. "Gretchen."

"Yes! Gretchen. She is crazy, let me tell you. She asked me if I would show her how to use an axe. Her father is an axe wielding legend around here. She just wants to get close to me. I will be so happy to get away from her." Gunnar said leaning back in relief to prove his point.

This just made the laughter come bubbling out of Skullette. "Have you seen her hair? And they call me Fire Head?" she laughed more. Having Gunnar join in lightly.

"You know if I didn't know any better, I would say you were a real rebel just like myself." Gunnar said quieting down.

"Who knows. I just might be. We will just have to wait and find out." Skullette said smiling at him. What was once a horrible day, just got better. And all it took was a small talk from her so called babysitter.

The next day Gunnar showed up right on time and they headed to the training arena as planned for Dragon Training. As they came down the ramp, Gretchen was throwing glares Skullette's way one minute, and goo goo eyes at Gunnar the next, when she thought Skullette's back was turned.

"A' right you tooth picks. Today you face the Deadly Nadder." He said as he opened the cage. He was up top while all the students were in the arena surrounded by large walls of wood like a maze. "Every dragon has a blind spot. Find it, hide in it and strike." Olaf instructed.

After two hours of running around the maze and avoiding the Nadder, everyone was just about tired out when the wooden walls started to collapse around them. The Nadder had hit a wall hard enough while chasing Skullette that it knocked down the rest of the walls as well. Finally as the last wall fell Skullette jumped onto the railing that surrounded the arena and clung to it for dear life. As the Nadder tried to get to her.

Gunnar was the one to stop the beast with a swift strike to the jaw with his shield. The Nagger hobbled away from the group and back to its cage.

"Come on Skullette. The big mean dragon is gone now." Gunnar teased standing below the girl ready to catch her.

Seeing this she huffs and crawls through the gap in the metal bars away from him and the others who were laughing at her now.

"Look at the coward run!" Hogsnot yelled so that Skullette could hear him.

"Told you she wouldn't last a week here! Go home and play with your plants!" Gretchen laughed.

"Don't you listen to them." Olaf said encouragingly to the girl.

Skullette wasn't listening to any of them at the moment. Her mind was still trying to collect all of her current thoughts. Her mind and heart were racing as she tried to caught her breath after being chased by the Nadder.

When she could finally hear what the others were saying, what she heard just made her heart stop and her mind reel again.

"I heard her father is looking for a strong Viking to marry her off too. He's so ashamed of her he can't even get anyone to agree to an arranged marriage!" Torrent told the others. The four laughed hysterically together at the girl's expense.

She didn't look at them. She didn't want to see their faces laughing at her. She could hear it echoing in her head already, for they spoke the truth. She wanted it to stop. Begged it to stop. The next thing she knew her feet were moving away from the arena. Surrounded by trees now she kept running. Nothing mattered any more. Not this village, not her home, not her father. All she wanted was Nightingale and to be rid of this place for good. She didn't stop till she was in the hole where she first met Nightingale.

As she reached the hole she climbed down as quickly as she could and made her way over to the dragon what looked like a black blur at the moment. She hugged the dragon around the neck and when she stopped for a moment she could feel the tears falling down her face as she cried.

The Night Fury looked on worriedly at her. Wrapping her tail around the girl, she tried to calm her down and stop the water that was falling from her eyes.

"Oh Nightingale, I don't want to be here anymore." She told the dragon. "I can't live here in this village like this any longer." Her tears slowly stopped as she whipped them away. Then the most amazing thing happened.

Nightingale lowered herself to the ground and gestured for Skullette to get on her back.

She looked at the dragon in awe. "You would… really let me ride you?" Skullette asked in amazement.

The dragon purred in her normal gruff voice and nudged the girl gently.

She looked at the dragons inviting back for a moment before reaching around her neck with her right arm ready to pull herself up.

What stopped her was that taunting, smooth voice that haunted her dreams every chance they got. "So this is what you have been hiding. You are just like me, I'm impressed."

Skullette spun around and looked in the direction Nightingale was growling in. Up on the ledge was none other than Gunnar watching her in a crouch with a smile on his face.

Skullette's face must have been of pure shock because he continued speaking. "So what do you plan on doing now? Run away and never look back? Doesn't sound like something you would do." He stated. He sat on the edge with one leg raised up with his left arm resting on it while his right leg dangled and his arm kept him up right.

He looked amazing in that pose as Skullette watched him for a moment. That is, till the Night Fury's growl filled the air again. "What are you doing here?" She yelled up at him. Her anger was more at herself rather than at the boy above her. She had allowed someone to follow her straight to Nightingale. Now she had no choice, she had to leave. She would be shunned for having saved a dragon instead of killing it. And a Night Fury at that.

"I was ordered to watch over you remember?" He said calmly as he picked up something beside him. As it came into view Skullette was in front of her dragon in an instant.

"You and I both know you don't like listening to orders." She said defensively.

"True but that doesn't mean I can't follow you if I wanted to." He stated inspecting the crossbow in his hands. It was about the length of his arm and looked to be kept in fair condition from this angle.

"So what will you do now?" She asked watching his every move.

He kept his eyes on his crossbow as he cleaned it and left it un loaded. It was like his most prized possession the way he was looking at it, she noticed.

"Well telling everyone that you have a dragon would be a waste of time and effort. I'm not considered a rebel for nothing and seeing this picture in front of me." He said as he turned his eyes to the girl and her dragon. "Leaves me wondering how you of all people happened to find a Night Fury and keep it here for so long." He inquired.

"That is a long story and I don't know if I should tell you about it." Skullette countered. _'What makes him think I'm just going to lay my life story out for him to learn about? Wait a minute…'_

"You broke our deal! You said you wouldn't follow me so far into the woods!" She yelled at him.

"You never told me where the meeting point was or how far to go remember?!" he shot back. He had a point.

"Beside's we are getting off topic." He said calming down as Skullette mumbled to herself about annoying boys. "Now I'll make you a deal. Wait till your father gets back from his voyage to leave. In the mean time I will keep your Night Fury a secret if you do something for me."

"And what would that be?" Skullette asked. Curious as to what he had in mind. It wasn't everyday that you see a dragon and a Viking being friendly to each other, let alone seeing a girl about to hop on the back of one and leave her village forever.

"If you still have to leave. Take me with you." He said looking her dead in the eye.

Skullette's jaw dropped to the ground. He wanted to go with her? "Why would you of all people want to go with me, the Firetamer?" she asked confused.

"Because changing sides sounds very intriguing." He answered truthfully. She could see in his emerald eyes that he spoke the truth. He wouldn't hurt her dragon and he wouldn't tell the village of his discovery.

"What about dragon training?" Skullette asked. She didn't want to keep hurting the other dragons just to keep up appearances.

"Just leave that to me and to make the deal even better, I'll talk to your dad about offering the dragons a portion of the food once a month. Maybe even about your marriage situation." He grinned at her.

Skullette blushed at the reminder of her father searching for a husband to marry her off to. This in turn reminded her of the earlier taunting by the other teens. It wasn't fair that she has to be put through a marriage she didn't want, but it was the way of the chief's. Should the chief have a son they will be raised to lead the village. Should they have a daughter, she will be married to the strongest Viking in the village, despite age.

She shivered at the thought. She didn't want to be married off to anyone. So looking up at Gunnar, she saw his sincerity and spoke at last. "Very well. But should you break this promise, Odin help you when I find you!" she threatened making him laugh at her.

"Done deal. Now get up here before Olaf comes looking for us as well. Now he would kill on sight with no trouble." He said standing up and holding his crossbow at his side.

Skullette turned back to Nightingale and petted her head gently. "We will leave in a few more weeks. I need to make sure that this is exactly what I want to do." Skullette calmly told her best friend.

The Night Fury gently nuzzled her head into the girl's chest to comfort her and tell her she understood. "Thank you Nightingale." She said petting her head one more time before going up to Gunnar and making their way back to the village slowly.

As they traveled up and around the island to get back to the village, Skullette couldn't help but think that this was going to be a very long next few weeks.

**Yes I know… short, sweet and to the point… what do you mean that wasn't short? Anyways please review to tell me what you think. I appreciate it. Thanks.**


	3. Trouble Starts

**Well this is moving along smoothly. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon. I do own the other characters that you see in the story… read and review as always please and thank you. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 3: Trouble Starts**

"Today's lesson is about team work. If you get a dragons head wet it can't use its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breaths gas while the other one lights it." Olaf said as the doors to the cage opened and the arena was filled with gas.

Gunnar and Skullette were one team while The twins were another and Torrent and Gretchen, begrudgingly, were the last team. Each had a bucket and stood back to back to know where each other was in the gas cloud.

"If that dragon shows either of its heads, I'm gonna…" Torrent stopped as he saw a large figure through the gas. "There!" Torrent splashed the figure along with Gretchen. To their dismay it was the twins who they had splashed.

"Idiot." Hogsnot stated.

"It's us." Mudbath finished.

"How was I supposed to know. You had two heads through the gas!" Gretchen tried to explain. "He's the one that said you're the dragon."

Just then one of the twins was pulled away from the other. "Mudbath!" Hogsnot called to his missing brother.

There was nothing but silence for a moment before a scream came from the gas and Mudbath came running out of it screaming. "Oh I'm hurt! I am very much hurt."

Hogsnot ran after his twin to help him, leaving his bucket on the ground.

Gretchen grabbed the bucket and listened for where the dragon could be hiding. Torrent was by her side holding an empty bucket to use as a weapon should one of the two heads show itself.

There was nothing but silence for a long moment. The two could see nothing in front of them except the green gas that could easily be ignited at any moment.

Suddenly before Torrent could warn his partner, the two were knocked onto their backs by the Zippleback's tail running to the back of their knees. The bucket was emptied onto the floor in the process, leaving Skullette and Gunnar as the remaining team.

"You got a plan to get out of this one?" Skullette asked in a whisper as their backs were to each other.

"Maybe." He said quietly. They watched for any sign of movement in case it tried to ambush them like they did the others.

One of the heads came through the gas cloud and got very close to Skullette before sniffing her.

She didn't dare move for a moment. In doing so it made it look like she froze up in fear of the mighty dragon. No one moved for a moment, that's when Gunnar acted. He dumped his bucket of water on its head and waited for a reaction. Sadly the one he got wasn't the one he wanted.

The dragon opened its mouth and out flowed the green gas. "Just great." He said in dismay.

The head blew gas on him making him back up in case its other head decided to show up and set him on fire.

An instant later the second and sparking head came into view and right up to Skullette as well.

"Now Girl!" Olaf called from the ramp entrance behind her.

Skullette tossed the water at the dragon head, who had moved to look at her from above, only to miss by inches. Sighing in defeat she brought it down to eye level and that's when she understood Gunnar's plan.

She moved the bucket from side to side as if she was going to hit the dragon with it. As she did so the Hideous Zippleback moved away from the offending object. Everyone watched as she moved more confidently, making the Zippleback move back into its cage.

"Back. Go back into your cage!" As she reached the inside of the door so no one could see what she was doing she pulled the slimy Eel out of the bucket and through it in the cage. "Now you just think about what you've done."

As she moved away from the entrance, Gunnar came up to one of the doors and started pushing it so it would close. Skullette, understanding, went and started to close the other door. Once it was firmly shut they smiled lightly to each other and then turned around to see the four teens and Olaf staring at them.

"Is that it for today?" Skullette asked "Cause I really need to um… yeah, I'll uh, see you tomorrow." Skullette said as she took off for the ramp and out into the fresh air with Gunnar on her tail.

They quickly headed off to her house to get a basket of fish and her herb basket from the storage area.

"How did you know that the dragons didn't like eels?" Skullette asked as she grabbed her empty basket.

"I noticed that they left the Eel baskets alone when they were collecting food in the last raid." He explained picking up the basket of fish and then his crossbow.

Skullette grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows and they headed out and into the woods. That's when one of the villagers stopped them half way.

"And where do you think you're going? You're not allowed in the woods Skullette." The woman said sternly.

"It's alright. We're just going out for some training. I won't let her out of my sight, promise." Gunnar explained before the woman could drag them back to the house.

"As long as she doesn't go herb hunting. Her father made it very clear that she is not to collect any more herbs." She declared to the two. "Speaking of which I need the Antidote formula dear."

"You won't need it for a while. I have enough back at the house to last us until the end of next winter." She explained. She would die before giving away her antidote recipe. It was the only thing she could hold over her father's head at the moment.

The woman thought about it for a moment. "Very well. But see that you write it down so if anything should happen we can have it." With that last statement she walked off to do some chores.

The two teens soon made it into the woods with no more trouble. Making sure no one was following them, they went to the clearing in the ground where Nightingale stayed.

After dumping the fish out for the Night Fury, they sat down and relaxed for a moment. Dragon training was tiring and running all the way from there to the middle of the island was just as taxing on their bodies.

"Do you intend to give the women your formula?" Gunnar finally asked after the long silence. By now Nightingale had finished her fish and was laying down next to Skullette protectively. She was still wary of the weapon wielder and wouldn't leave Skullette to face him alone.

"No I don't. Should I be forced to marry someone I don't love, I will threaten to kill myself and the secret of the antidote along with me." She explained sternly. The seriousness in her voice worried Gunnar slightly.

"Do you really hate the fact that you have to marry someone?" He asked looking into her eyes for the answer.

"Marry, no. Someone I don't love or care for, yes." She adjusted the string on her bow to make it tighter. It had been loosening due to overuse recently.

She didn't like close combat too much. She was one to keep a distance and strike quietly.

"And if that ever happens?" Gunnar asked. He tried to hide his worry but it came through slightly in his voice. "What are you going to do?"

"If worse comes to worse… I will have to make good on my promise. But being the chief's only child I don't think that we have anything to worry about." She calmly stated. She looked over at her best friend and petted her head gently.

"What about Nightingale? What will she do if you do have to kill yourself?" he asked. He couldn't see her killing herself over something that she can possibly get out of.

"If this does happen, and I'm not saying it will, I want you to watch after her. Can you do that for me?" By now both the girl and the dragon were looking at him waiting for his answer.

"Fine but I warn you I might have to stop you before you get anything close to causing you any permanent damage." He said turning away from them now. "I do still have to watch over you."

She scowled at him. "Don't remind me. It's bad enough that he's forcing me to marry someone I don't know and don't love but to make someone watch over me as if I'm a child. Does that seem like he's trying to turn me into a True Viking? Or Keep me locked away to hide his shame of me being his daughter?" she asked angrily. A rumbling came from the dragon's throat trying to calm her.

"Well it does sound like he's trying to hide you away but I think it's more like, he wants you to be a real Viking so you can be free again." He said trying to understand.

"You don't get it do you!?" She said standing up in front of him now. "I will never be free! I will be bound to do a man's will every day of my life! To bed him whenever he asks. To give him heirs and to clean up after him. The only way for me to be free is to…" She stopped to breath slowly and calm herself down again.

"Run away?" Gunnar suggested. He was rather relieved she had calmed down now.

"I don't even know why I am telling you all of this. It's none of your business anyways." Skullette said sitting down and looked out at the pond in thought.

"Maybe it's because I'm the first human who actually sat down and talked to you normally instead of fearing that you would start a fire on them." He stated. He wasn't trying to poke fun at her like the other teens did. He was just trying to get her talking again. So much anger and frustration can make people go mad sometimes.

"We need to figure out what we are going to do next. My father and the rest of the Vikings should be coming home soon. They only ever leave for a few weeks around this time of year because of the ice. I would have to say we only have maybe a weeks' time before their return." Skullette stated.

"That soon huh? Thought they might stay out a bit longer than that." He said sharpening one of his arrows.

"Yeah well, you know how Vikings are. We have stubbornness issues and being a Viking is an occupational hazard." They both laughed slightly at this knowing full well that she was right. "Besides I have had enough of looking over that dragon manual. It's like they are trying to turn us into killing devices that they can control." Gunnar nodded in agreement.

"If I have to look at that manual again I'm going to shove it down Olaf's big fat throat." Skullette giggled lightly at this statement. She could just see him doing so and Olaf with that big manual in his mouth is quite the sight to see. Of course, after a week of reading that manual she was half tempted to do the job herself.

"Back to the problem with your father." Gunnar said clearing his throat to get her attention. "What do you intend to do?"

"I'm not sure yet. I know I will have to face him about dragons and Vikings working together but I don't know how to go about doing so." She confessed looking down at the ground sadly. She will have to face her father but will she be able to?

"In any case why don't we practice what we are going to do in the ring tomorrow." He stood up and stretched his arms and legs to get them moving again.

"Why?" Skullette was confused how could they train when they don't even know which dragon they are going to be facing next?

"Because, it involves your dragon." He said smiling at them.

Skullette and Nightingale shared a confused look before looking back up at him waiting for an explanation.

"A' right little Vick's, it is now time to face the Terrible Terror!" Olaf said while lifting the wooden log that kept the gates to the cage sealed.

Instead of seeing a giant dragon as they had thought would come from the doors only a small lizard like dragon came from a smaller door inside the larger door. It was green with red on the top of the head, back and tail.

"That little thing?" Hogsnot laughed.

"That is a waste of time!" Mudbath joined in with his brother.

Suddenly both were running away from the little dragon's fire as it chased them around the arena. Only when a small light hit its scales and got its attention did it stop and watch the small light. Following it as it tried to get away it used its claws to try and grab the annoying light. What everyone else could see was Skullette waving her shield in front of the dragon and it following her back to its cage.

Everyone was shocked at this. How was she doing this and how did she suddenly get so good?

She moved just in time to watch the little Terror go back into its cage and she quickly closed the small door while Gunnar closed the gates once again.

Everyone was silent for a moment and Gretchen just seemed to look ready to kill Skullette as if she was one of the dragons in the cages.

"Well done Skullette. Your training is certainly paying off." Olaf complimented as he headed back up the ramp. "Be back here bright and early tomorrow morning." He laughed.

"That was incredible." Torrent said as he walked up to Skullette. "How do you do it?"

Before she could answer Gunnar interrupted. "Sorry but it's time to go now Skullette." He said pulling her arm gently towards the ramp back to the real world.

"Something isn't right here and I am going to find out what." Gretchen seethed.

"Oh don't get your hair," Started Hogsnot. "In a knot." Mudbath finished.

"Maybe she's just jealous cause Gunnar is hanging around with Skullette instead of her." Torrent said teasingly. This caused him to get a bloody nose courtesy of Gretchen's fist hitting his face.

"That's enough out of all of you. She is not going to take him away from me." She growled as she stomped up the ramp and went home to rest.

The following day they had to face the Gronkle again. This time Skullette was prepared for it. Gunnar and she had discovered that Dragon's liked a certain plant and became very calm when they smelled it.

Gunnar attracted the Gronkle and brought it around to where Skullette was hiding and got out of the way before she hit him in the head, when her fist went in front of the Gronkle's nose. As the dragon breathed in, it could smell the plant that the girl held in her hand. The Gronkle became calm and fall to the ground, rolling onto its side.

As the week went on things continued as they were, Skullette was placing first followed by Gunnar and Gretchen coming in third. The other three where decent dragon fighters but not as good as the others.

Finally after two and a half weeks of waiting the ships had finally returned. Olaf was there to greet them canceling dragon training so the others could say hello to their parents after their long trip.

"Did you find the nest?" Olaf asked as he greeted the chief.

"Not even close. I hope you had better luck than me." He groaned as they made their way up to the village.

"If you mean your Daughter has found the true Viking spirit, then yes." Olaf said in praise.

Bundar looked at the blacksmith confused. "Skullette?"

"Who would have thought she was so skilled." Olaf said. "She has even placed first in training." He said to the chief hoping to fill the man with pride.

"I will have to see such a feat for myself. Where can I find her?" he asked

"Well she and Gunnar usually train in the woods around now, but seeing as today is your return you might find them at your house." Olaf suggested.

"Has she given up on her herbs?" the chief asked warily.

"Well, I haven't seen her sneak out to get any. Her basket has even been burned by one of the other Viking women. So I suspect all that's left is what you have at home."

"And did she give the women the antidote formula?" he asked to make sure his troubles were truly over.

"I believe so. I saw her give somethin' to the other women in the healing hut not three days ago." Olaf explained. By now they had reached the top of the hill and were next to Olaf's blacksmith stall.

"Very good. Then maybe the marriage will go off without a hitch!" Bundar said excitedly.

"Oh, you found someone that will take her hand?" Olaf asked slightly surprised. He hadn't been home for more than a few minutes and he already had a man willing to take his daughters hand?

"Yes the lucky man's father was on the ship on the journey home." Bundar explains. "His son is a fine young man, so he's told me. A real Viking, he was even in your training group." He said excitedly.

"What is the boy's name?" Olaf asked surprised.

"Torrent. A fine strong young man that will make a fine son in law one day. Am I right?" He asked hoping for a good response.

"With a bit more trainin' he will be perfect. Now why don't ya go tell your daughter the good news." Olaf suggested.

"Very good. We have decided to have the wedding right after the final training session." Bundar said happily.

Olaf was slightly skeptical about the wedding, something didn't sit right in his stomach about it. But the chief looked so happy right now. He didn't want to bother him with something that could just have been something he ate. "Sounds wonderful. Tomorrow is the final trail before the killin' of the dragon. And with your daughter in first position, if all goes well tomorrow she will be the one to slay her first dragon."

Pride was glowing off of Bundar. "Splendid, now to tell my daughter the good news." He said walking off towards his hut.

Meanwhile Gunnar and Skullette had just returned from the woods. They had visited Nightingale early that morning because of the arrival of the ships. As predicted, they had arrived the day Skullette had said they would. As they reached the house Skullette looked over her shoulder and saw her father talking to Olaf and then head this way.

She quickly pushed Gunnar inside and started tidying up. Putting the clothes away hiding the pelt she had been working on and fixing something to eat over the now reasonable fire that Gunnar had made.

She had just sat down to stir the pot when her father walked in. Gunnar was on the other side of the fire pit, more in the shadows than in the fire light. Bundar was so happy at the news that he didn't realize Gunnar was there at all not even as he sat down in front of the boy. **(A/N: Gunnar is behind him in the shadows if anyone didn't understand that last sentence.)**

"How have you been doing Daughter?" Bundar asked as he tried to keep his voice level and as calm as he possibly could.

Gunnar said nothing as he just watched the scene before him unfold. He wanted to know all of the information before he tried to do anything.

"I have been fine Father. Did your trip fare well?" Skullette asked as she stopped her stirring and looked up at her father.

"We didn't find the nest." He stated calmly. Skullette had to restrain herself from smiling at this bit of news. "However I do come baring good news." Bundar replied more happily then he was a moment ago.

Skullette had to calm herself as she awaited the news that he had for her. "And what would that be father?" she asked. Her voice was calm enough but Gunnar could tell from being around her so much that she was afraid of what he was going to tell her.

A rock felt like it hit the bottom of both of their stomachs when Bundar stated, "I have found a man who will take your hand in marriage. His name is Torrent and you both will be wed after you slay your first dragon!" The smile he had would not leave his face. Not even after seeing his daughters eyes fill with horror and tears. "This is a happy day! I will go an announce it to the whole Village. Be sure not to burn dinner won't you." He laughed as he left the house, the door slamming gently as he did so.

It was then that Gunnar revealed himself to her once again. His face nearly matched hers. Before he could stop her she was up and out the door faster than a Night Fury during a raid. "Skullette wait!" He moved the pot out of the fire as he ran past it and followed her. She ran all the way to the farthest pillar of rock and climbed the slippery slope until she could stand on top of it.

Gunnar was trying to talk her out of it before she made a big mistake. "Please Skully." He called to her. He had recently been calling her this because it was much easier to say than Skullette and at a time like this, much faster. "I can still talk to your father, remember! Now come down before someone sees."

She looked at him for a moment contemplating her choices. Finally deciding she could do the deed before the wedding, she came down and sat on the ledge of the island for a long while. Gunnar was trying to calm his racing heart now that the chief's daughter was safe again.

Once calm again, he looks at the sad girl beside him. "Do you promise not to try and kill yourself again if I go and talk to your father?" he asked looking at her seriously.

"Yes, just try to not get yourself killed, alright?" She asked sadly looking up at him.

He nodded and then headed off in the direction of the girl's father. He passed many excited Vikings busy doing one thing or another. He knew why but he wanted to make it look like the news had not reached him yet. Finally he found the man he had been searching for.

"Bundar sir, I wish to speak with you." He said calmly. Bundar dismissed the Vikings around him so that they may talk alone.

"What is it Gunnar?" he asked. His happy demeanor was still in place as they spoke.

"Over the time I have known your daughter, keeping her out of trouble and what not. I have come to love her and so I ask for her hand in marriage."

There was a silence before Bundar laughed out right in the boys face. "Boy, you may have taught her a few things and made her change her ways but she has already got a future husband. They will be married after my daughter kills her first dragon." He said still laughing lightly.

"Then allow me to prove myself better. Should I win tomorrow's duel against the dragon I will marry Skullette. Should she win you have to offer a portion of our food for the dragons to take once every moon cycle." Gunnar stated firmly.

Bundar stopped laughing at this request. "Are you mad boy? Are you siding with them? To give them our food is to say we surrender! I will not have it!" He yelled at Gunnar.

"They aren't dangerous!" Gunnar yelled back at him. Earning him a whack from Bundar the Wise, sending the boy into the wall.

"You listen to me boy. If you continue to side with them then I will have you banished from this tribe!" Bundar said standing up to face the young Viking prodigy.

"Come at me then." The boy threatened.

Bundar had him by the throat 3' off the ground at this point. "So be it!" He said raising his free arm into the air, clenching his hand into a fist.

The following day Skullette had gotten up early to take the pelt to Nightingale. She had a very good feeling that she was leaving soon. She placed it in a large basket along with a few rolled up cloths of food and some spare clothes. She also packed all of her herbs and healing supplies in a smaller bag and brought it to Nightingale's hiding place yesterday.

So now no one saw her as she snuck out the back with the basket as well as her bow and quiver on her back. Should her father be up when she got back she can say she was merely training not too far into the woods.

When she finally got there what she saw surprised her. Gunnar was sitting on the cold ground unconscious. She moved over to him quickly to make sure he was alright. When she could see him up close she was not pleased. He has cuts and bruises all up and down his arms and legs. But his face was the worst off. He had a bloody nose, a swollen eye and a cut lip and cheek.

"Gunnar. Gunnar!" She called trying to wake him.

She received a pained whine before he fell back into unconsciousness. She went and grabbed her medical bag after dropping off the larger basket before hurrying back to him.

She quickly got to work on his cuts and bruises by laying a thin layer a berry paste over them and then wrapping them in strips of cloth that she can wash and re-use. When she finished his arms and legs she went to try and wake him up when she looked into two deep pools of green emerald staring right back at her.

"You think you can do the same to my back?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

She nodded and he lifted the back of his shirt after, with much difficulty, taking off his vest. There were mostly just bruises on his back but they looked like someone had thrown rocks at him and not just small rocks, these had to have been bigger than her head.

Once she was done she turned him around and finally asked, "Who did this to you?" her voice showed her worry even if she didn't mean to.

"You're father has a mean punch. In the end I did manage to give him a good fight but I lost. So he banished me, for siding with dragons. Before that I tried to talk him out of your marriage. He fully intends to marry you to that ignorant prick." He explains sitting upright and putting his vest back on over his shirt.

"How were you going to try and talk him out of it?" She was curious as to how he intended to break her arranged marriage with idiot Torrent.

"That's not important. Right now they have moved the wedding up to tonight after you slay your first dragon. Because I was banished you win today's fight by default and there for you will kill the dragon.

**I think a good cliff hanger is in order here. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you.**


	4. Betrayal

**You all know the drill. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon. But I do own any characters you don't see in the movie or apparently book that I'm just hearing about. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Betrayal**

The shock of this news was evident on Skullette's face as Gunnar looked as her seriously. He wasn't joking. She was really going to be made to kill a dragon.

She shook her head in disbelief. No, the plan was for him to face the dragon. He was to win today's session earning him the right to face it. Not this. "What are we going to do?" Skullette asked in a desperate voice.

"You're going to go into that arena and show everyone that dragons are not dangerous." Gunnar said sternly. Thanks to Skullette's mixture, he was feeling better already. "And if me or Nightingale see that it's not going as planned, we will come and save you before we make our way to somewhere new. Your father isn't the understanding person the people in the village say he is." He explained before resting on the floor again.

"You promise?" She asked making sure he was serious and wasn't just going to leave her there.

He gestured for her to come closer. And seeing how beaten up he was and how tired he must be she obliged. As she came closer she tilted her head so her ear was closer to his mouth so he could whisper to her what he wanted to say. Instead she felt a pair of soft lips touch her cheek as her eyes went wide. When the lips moved away she turned her head back to look at his face directly. A smile was adoring his beaten features but his eye was looking better then it was when she first showed up. "I promise."

She smiled down at him as all of this sunk in. That is, until Nightingale's growl pierced the air. Skullette turned around to see Nightingale standing with her back to the girl growling at something on the cliff. Peaking around the Night Fury Skullette could now see Gretchen standing at the top of the cliff looking down at them. Well, at the Night fury who was blocking the view of the two teens.

Instead of facing the dragon on her own like Skullette had thought, the girl turned around and started running back toward the village.

Skullette quickly looked back at Gunnar as if asking if he was going to be okay.

"Go, I'll be fine. Just hurry and beat her to the village." He said getting up now slowly.

"Alright, just don't try and over work yourself." She said before getting to her feet and running as quickly as she could up the slope and back to the village.

As she reached her house she went through the back and took a deep breath to calm herself. Once her breathing was normal again she heard a knock at the door. Inwardly smiling she went to the door and opened it. Outside was Olaf with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Is your father home Skullette?" He asked urgently.

Before she could respond there was a commanding voice from behind her. "I am, what seems to be the problem?" Bundar asked as he comes to the door.

"It seems Gretchen is going on about some dragon she saw in the woods, and claims to have seen your daughter with it." He explained.

"As you can plainly see, my daughter has been here sleeping until you came to our door." Bundar explained.

Skullette had figured he had been awoken by the knock on the door. This was a lucky break for her. Her father thought that she was home when Gretchen saw her and Nightingale in the woods. _'The Gods must be smiling on me today. Please last.'_ She thought to herself.

"You better go and explain that to the villagers before there is trouble." Olaf suggested before going back down the hill to where a group of Viking's were surrounding the teen girl in the middle.

Bundar and Skullette followed Olaf to the group. "What is going on here?" Bundar's voice boomed making everyone quiet down.

"There she is! Tell them Skullette, you have been with a dragon! I saw you, so don't go denying it!" the girl yelled at her.

Before Skullette could utter a word, her father spoke up for her. "She has been at home sleeping until Olaf had to come and disturb us because you were spreading these lies about a dragon and my daughter. Now all of you go back about your business. And as for you girl, I will hear no more of these lies. Am I understood?" He said threateningly glaring at her.

Gretchen could only nod at the chief. But the moment his back was turned she glared at Skullette with complete hatred. "I know what I saw. You won't get away with it." She growled quietly at her.

"You have no proof." Skullette said back before walking away calmly.

A little later that day, Skullette was preparing herself to face the toughest of the dragons in the arena. The Monstrous Nightmare. All around the outside of the arena the villagers where cheering her on waiting in anticipation for her to slay the dragon.

Little did they know, that just above them, high above so no one could see, Nightingale and Gunnar were hiding. Waiting for the perfect moment to step in if need be. And knowing her father; that would be sooner than Gunnar or Skullette would like.

Back in the arena Skullette walked out into the middle of the arena and grabbing a shield and a small dagger, she readied herself.

Slowly the logs keeping the doors to the cage were lifted away and all was quiet for a moment. Suddenly the doors were blasted open from the inside. Out stepped, in a blazing fire, the most ferocious Dragon Skullette had ever seen. The Monstrous Nightmare.

This was the largest of the dragons. It's large jaw was full of razor sharp teeth that could tear the skin off the bones in one good chomp. It's body was four times longer than her father and was about 12' long. Its red and black scales glittered off the flames that surrounded its body.

Using the tip's of its wings as feet it moved swiftly around the arena looking for a way to escape. As it moved the flames on its body started to dissipate. It let out a fire ball into the crowd who moved out of the way quickly. Finally it stopped, hanging upside down and looking at the only one in the arena. Skullette.

It moved to the ground with little trouble and advanced on the girl slowly. Skullette backed up slowly, showing little fear and dropped the dagger and shield as she did so. "Easy, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." She said calmly. As reward the dragon stopped growling and sniffed her cautiously while still advancing slowly. The distance between them got smaller as Skullette stopped her retreat and allowed the dragon to come to her.

Up in the stands her father was not pleased. "What is she doing? Is this what you taught her to do?" He asked growling at Olaf.

"No, I don't know wha' she is doin'? But the dragon isn't attacking her. Why is tha'?" He asked aloud.

"It doesn't matter! She will kill the dragon or she will not leave the arena!" Bundar said getting out of his seat and walking to the rail, hammer in hand.

From above, Gunnar could see the chief move from his seat to the rail, helpless to do anything, he watched in worry. "This isn't good. I had hoped he would have waited a few more minutes but I guess not." He said to himself while Nightingale started to fidget slightly. He patted the head of the nervous Night Fury. "Easy girl. We won't let anything happen to her." He soothed the dragon slightly.

Back in the arena Skullette and the dragon were nearly touching now. The Monstrous Nightmare was, in the best possible sense one can have over the dragons many vocal sounds, purring. It had not attacked for some time now and everyone was looking at her as if she was insane.

"Skullette!" the booming voice of her father came from the stands. "Fight and kill the dragon!" He ordered. She would have normally obeyed but this was her chance to change her tribe. With everyone watching she could show that dragons were not what they seemed and they didn't have to kill them.

Looking up at her father with a fire, that no one had ever seen in the girl's eyes before, blazed as if it would shoot out at her father at any moment. She took in a deep breath and with all the mental strength she could muster said as calmly as possible, "No."

Gasps where heard from the entire crowd. No one dared tell the chief no, for fear they would lose their heads. It was even more surprising when his own daughter refused his demand.

"You will do as I say! You will kill this dragon and marry Torrent tonight!" He yelled.

Skullette was able to keep the dragon calm while they had this small conversation in front of the entire village. "I would rather die than marry that self absorbed little urchin." She said calmly back to her father. On the inside she was scared but she would let no one see her fear at the moment. This was her time to show she was strong without showing force.

"I Said Fight!" Bundar brought his hammer down on the bars of the arena bending them down in an arch.

The dragon as well as Skullette were startled by the action. The Nightmare started growling at her once again. Having no more mental courage she ran out of the way as the dragon shot fire at her. She ran for cover but could only grab a shield before the Monstrous Nightmare destroyed the weapon wall with its giant and powerful foot.

Having little to no place to go she continued to run holding the shield up as her only protection. As she looked back to see where the dragon was she tripped over one of the fallen hammers and slid to the ground. Before she could regain her footing to run again the dragon pinned her to the ground. There was a hammer within arm's reach that she could use to set herself free, but she refused to hurt the dragon in anyway. Everyone could see the hammer and see her under the dragon's foot not even reaching for it.

"Grab the hammer." Everyone was shouting at her. But she didn't listen to them. She didn't even hear her father yell at her to 'kill the devil!' She couldn't.

Just as she watched the dragon's mouth open and get ready to shoot fire at her for the final time, there was an explosion from above them. The arena was filled with smoke and the next thing Skullette knew she was free and being pulled into the arms of someone else. "Skully? Are you alright?" It was Gunnar. He kept his word and came when she needed him most.

"Yes, thank you." She looked up into his emerald green eyes and smiled at him lightly before the moment was broken by growling and hissing coming from behind them.

The smoke was clearing and the two dragons were visible to the everyone. Murmurs of 'Night Fury' were heard among the crowd as Nightingale fought off the Nightmare with bites and clawing. Once the two were separated the Nightmare was backed into its cage by the Night Fury and stayed there as she glared at it.

The two teens are brought back to reality when Bundar yelled with great might, "Silence!" Before staring down at his daughter and the traitor with much hatred. "What is the meaning of this? I told you to fight that dragon and kill it!"

"I won't kill a dragon! They won't hurt us! They fight us to survive!" Skullette yelled back at him stepping closer to Nightingale with Gunnar following her.

"You will turn your back on your Village? On your own father? For a monster that has killed hundreds of us?" He asked in shock and anger. His eyes glaring down at her as if daring her to say yes.

"And We Have Killed Thousands Of Them!" Skullette glared back at her father secretly telling him that she was no longer afraid of him. She watched as his hammer slipped from his fingers in surprise.

"Then you are a traitor and I will kill you myself!" Bundar said taking an axe that was next to him and jumped into the arena from the hole Nightingale made.

Acting quickly, Gunnar grabbed the axe that was next to him. The same axe Skullette refused to use against the Nightmare. And stood defensively in front of Nightingale and Skullette. "You'll face me first. How can a father say he will kill his only child?" Gunnar said angrily at the man in front of him. In his eyes, this man was anything but wise.

Bundar started to laugh at this statement. Some thought he was mad at the time until he stopped and pointed his axe at Skullette who was now on the Night Fury's back. "That child is not mine. She was a peace offering from another village we were fighting with 16 years ago. To kill her would mean nothing to me." His face read no sympathy for the girl. He had not only disowned her but declared that she was never his daughter to begin with.

"Which village?" Gunnar asked angrily. How dare this man say this and laugh about it. Skullette was an offering of peace and he was laughing at her.

"What does it matter now? She is going to die today anyways. And you along with her!" He yelled advancing on the young Viking prodigy.

Just as the man's axe came down, Gunnar deflected it by using the middle of the double sided axe to push it away and make a strike with the tips of the axe. This did nothing when Bundar side stepped out of the way. Using this to his advantage he smashed a fist into the boy's ribcage and flung him into the wall.

He advanced slowly on the teen grinning in triumph at the sight of him. "Even after that beating I gave you, you still come back for more. I won't show mercy this time. Good bye and may Hel have mercy on your soul." He raised his mighty axe into the air and grinned evilly down at the teen in front of him. Bringing it down to slice the boy's skull open, it was suddenly shot out of the man's hand and an arrow was protruding from the same hand the axe had dropped from. The axe missed Gunnar and fell to the floor next to him.

Bundar turned around to see who had dared shoot at him. His eyes landed on Skullette holding her bow in one hand and glaring at him. "I will shoot another and it will go through your heart next if you don't tell me who my parents really are." She ordered. She would not let him control her any more, not when he was not and never was her father. He never even acted like one to her.

He laughed at her heartily. "You will die before the very name's pass my lips. However, I will tell you that only your brother and father still live. Your mother died back when you were born. Being second born, it was you who caused your mother's death."

Laughter filled the arena as everyone watched what she would do next. She looked at Nightingale for a moment before smiling. She turned her head back to Bundar and smiled at him. His laughing ceased and he just stared at her for a moment wondering why she was smiling. "Thank you. I now know that I not only still have a father, but a twin brother as well." She pulled out an arrow quickly notching it into place. Pulling back and aiming, she readied to hit her mark.

Bundar looked at her like she was stupid. With his attention fully on Skullette, Gunnar took his chance and using his axe quickly slashed at his right leg causing blood to spill, he ran for Nightingale at this point but Bundar was on his tail as if the scratch hadn't happened. Thinking quickly, Gunnar took the axe and wrapped the curved portion around the back of Bundar's calf and pulled, tripping Bundar and knocking him to the ground. Bundar screamed in pain as the gash opened more and rubble got in the open wound. Skullette let her arrow fly at this point and it hit the mark. The rope keeping the arena door closed snapped making the door open for them.

She sat down on Nightingales lower neck and Gunnar came up behind her. As he sat down Nightingale ran for the door and up the ramp. As she reached the top she opened her wings and with one great flap they were in the air. They circled the arena to show everyone that this was possible before going over the top of the stage and out of sight.

They landed in the small area Skullette first met Nightingale to grab the basket of supplies Skullette had gathered before making their way West to the main shore. They would hide there for a few days to throw their old village off. Then they would start the search for Skullette's father and twin brother.

When they were on the boarder of the village island they looked back to say good bye. "Will you miss it?" Skullette asked Gunnar, looking at him for a moment before her eyes went back to look at the island.

"No. Not really." Gunnar said before turning his attention to the girl in front of him. "We should go before they start sending ships after us?"

With a nod she set Nightingale west and in a few short flaps the island was out of sight and they were on their way.

Finally after hours of flying on Nightingale, they could see land just a head. Unfortunately, Gunnar wasn't fairing too well. His ribs hurt and the pain was starting to get to him. So much so that he was having a hard time holding on to Skullette's hips. Feeling Gunnar's grip loosen she looked back at him to see if everything was alright. Big mistake, the moment she moved his grip released her and he fell off of Nightingale towards the ocean surface.

"Gunnar!" Skullette yelled forcing Nightingale to go after him. As they chased after him Skullette could see he was now unconscious and would drowned if they didn't catch him in time. They kept getting closer and closer to the ocean but at the last possible moment Nightingale grabbed him and held him in her claws before making her way back toward the main land.

With a sigh of relief, Skullette relaxed and tried to figure out what caused Gunnar to pass out like that. Then she remembered, Bundar had hit him in the ribs sending him into a wall. That must be what's bothering him. Why didn't he tell her sooner? They went past many small islands they could have landed on and mended his ribs. When she was done with him he was going to be sorry.

They landed on the far outskirts of town in a cave big enough for Nightingale to blend in with the back of the cave with a fire going. Nightingale placed Gunnar on the floor while Skullette gathered dry grass and sticks to make a fire.

She arranged the fire place and Nightingale lit it with a small puff of flame. Once that was done Skullette went about getting the herbs she needed to heal his sore ribs and to make sure none of them were broken. Happy, when she looked his ribs over, none of them were broken, but a few were fractured. She mashed some roots and grasses together into a paste and spread it over the dark blue-ish-purple bruises. As she finished tying off the wrappings she made sure to make it tight. When she did, Gunnar shot up screaming and holding his ribs.

"So you finally woke up." Skullette said angrily at him while putting all of the herbs and wrappings away.

Gunnar looked around confused, last he knew he was on Nightingale's back holding onto Skullette's slender hips, though he would never call them slender to her face. "Uh, where are we?" He asked dumbly, not realizing she was angry with him.

"We are in a cave on the main land and you nearly fell in and drowned in the freezing ocean had Nightingale not caught you in time. Next time you choose to ignore an injury and then not tell me that you are hurt I will keep going without you!" Skullette said while poking his bruised rip to make her point known.

Wincing in pain at every poke to his tender ribs Gunnar was able to see how worried she was about him. "You couldn't leave me behind." He ginned at her even though his ribs ached in disagreement.

Gunnar suddenly feeling flirtatious slowly moved closer and whispered, slowly breathing into her ear, "Your conscience would get the better of you." A shiver went down her spine visibly as the wisps of warm air from his breath on her ear hit just the right places. Gunnar smirked knowing it had the affect he was after and backed off.

"Uhm, … I think you should lay down and rest now. The injury's obviously making you delirious." Skullette said trying desperately to sound not at all bothered and trying not to stutter. Not in the mood to argue, Gunnar obeyed, much to her surprise, and with that they laid down to rest for now.

**Ok that's it for this chapter… tell me what you all think by leaving me a review please and thank you.**


	5. Traveling, is Interesting

**Ok next one coming up… I don't own How To Train Your Dragon… I DO own all of the new characters in this story. so here is the next chapter, please review after… comments are your friend! Unless it's a flame then I'm just going to yell at you and be done with it. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Traveling, is Interesting.**

Gunnar was the first to slowly awaken from the long nights sleep. As he slowly blinked his eyes open and his senses returned, he felt a weight on his left shoulder. He didn't remember falling asleep with the weight there last night and the rock wall he was sleeping against had a flat surface protruding out of it that he was leaning on with his right side.

Looking over at the weight on his shoulder, he was greeted by a head of dark blond hair that nearly matched his own. At a closer inspection, he realized it looked very familiar to him, it was then that the events from the night before came back to him. Looking around he could just make out the outline of Nightingale sleeping near the back of the cave, which if anyone had come in during the night wouldn't have seen her. The fire was on embers in front of him, but the one person he didn't see was Skullette, which only brought him back to the head of hair that was on his shoulder.

Upon closer inspection, now that he was fully awake, He could make out the girls legs that were nearly tucked underneath her. Traveling up, he could see where her skirt met her waist and then all he saw was hair. He tried to move to see her face, but in doing so, she slid from his shoulders and onto his lap gently. When she didn't wake, he relaxed and went back to observing her.

Her face looked soft and looked to be glowing in the small rays of the sun that leaked in through the cave entrance, as her hair shaped it. Her eyes hidden behind her luscious eye lashes and her plump red lips that yelled at him to kiss her. Her chest and stomach rouse with every breath she took making his eyes linger for only a moment before going back to her face and her lips. A blush rose slightly to his face, but before it had time to fully appear, the girl in his lap began to stir. Deciding to flirt with her for teasing him as she slept, he decided to have a little fun.

He started playing with her hair as he stared down at her with a look that would make any woman swoon over him. Skullette's eyes fluttered open slowly and the world became clear to her, but as she looked around she knew something was different. "Good morning. I take it you slept well. You were all over me this morning." Skullette's eyes became more focused before she turned her head to the left to look up at the man staring down at her with that look of his. A blush came to her face before she shot up and scooted to where she had fallen asleep beside him.

Her heart was pounding in her ears as he kept looking at her like that. The moment was interrupted as both of their stomachs growled loudly. "I … I think we should go look for some breakfast." She said getting up and walking to the cave entrance. She turned around to face Nightingale, "If you want to go hunting Nightingale, just remember to stay out of sight. We don't know how people on the main land will react to seeing a dragon." Going back out, she breathed in the cool morning air and looked around.

They were surrounded in woods with the sun shining through the thin branches. Birds sang and the wind blew gently through her hair. It was so peaceful here. No war to fight, no villagers looking down on you, and no father, or rather step father, telling you how to be a true Viking. As she looked out at the wilderness, Gunnar came up beside her. "Shall we look for some breakfast or just stare at the scenery all day?" he half joked.

Skullette gave him a sideways glance before a blush came to her face and she had to turn away to hide it as she remembered the morning wake up call. She started walking up the side of the mountain that the cave was carved into. "Let's just get going, shall we?" She replied as calmly as possible. Gunnar silently followed seeing as she didn't want to talk to him at the moment.

As they continued their climb the silence was starting to get to Gunnar so in attempt at a conversation he brings up when he fell. "You know Skullette. I don't really know what happened yesterday. All I remember is holding on to your hips and then nothing. Could you tell me what happened after I blacked out?" He asked.

"I already told you. You dropped down to the ocean and just before you hit it, Nightingale caught you and we made our way to the main land. YOU still being unconscious for being an idiot nearly broke your ribs in the fall. I had to bandage you up and make sure you healed properly. You are such an idiot for being a weapons expert." Skullette said angrily. She was still pissed that he hadn't told her that he was so badly hurt when they could have stopped and prevented his fall all together.

Gunnar winced at the anger in her voice and chose to be quiet for a while. And the climb was quiet the rest of the way. The silence was starting to get to him, but as he listened to the nothing around him, he could hear in the wind a humming sound. This humming wasn't of birds' wings or any animal that he had ever known. No, this humming was of singing, someone was singing softly, probably to themselves. He turned to ask if Skullette had heard it but when he looked at her he saw her lips closed and the sound was getting louder as he got closer to her.

Skullette glanced down at Gunnar to make sure that he wasn't falling behind when she saw his stare. She quickly stopped humming her mothers, or was that her step mothers, song and started moving faster. A call of "Hey, Wait up! Why the sudden rush?" from Gunnar as he struggled to get his footing to stay in the snow.

Finally she reached the top of the side of the mountain. Looking down the other side, she could see smoke rising from the houses of a small village. They had sheep and chicken and many more animals that she had never seen before. Gunnar came up beside her taking in a deep breath. "Alright, so to the village." He stated. He looked around him and found two large pieces of bark that were almost as tall as they were. Grinning at her he tossed her one before stepping onto his own, he began snowboarding down the snow covered mountain. Sighing, she followed him the same way. As she dodged rocks and trees, she couldn't help but laugh out loud at how much fun this was. He may be a pain sometimes, but at least he knew how to lighten the mood.

As they reached the bottom, they left the bark and headed into the village to attain some food and maybe some supplies as well.

The village was small; a few homes here and there, a blacksmith, a trading post, and an inn. Skullette had been able to sneak some of Bundar's money away in her basket without his noticing. So when she left, the money was hers and he couldn't say she stole it.

They headed into the Inn for some breakfast and acted like this was a normal thing for travelers to do. Sitting down at a table, a barmaid came over and asked them what they would like. Skullette ordered a few hard boiled eggs and a chicken leg with a mug of mead, while Gunnar had eggs, bacon, sausage and a mug of white wine. The barmaid went and put in the order, bringing back their mugs a few moments later.

As they sat there talking, Skullette noticed three of the men looking over at her. Gunnar had been watching them for some time now as well. He didn't know why, but he didn't like the way the three were looking at Skullette. When Gunnar noticed one of the guys was about to get up, the barmaid came over with their food. He watched the man sit back down and relaxed slightly.

"Don't pay any attention to them Gunnar. They just want a girl to take home for the day. You can relax now." Skullette said cracking open another one of her eggs before eating it.

At her words he relaxed a little more and enjoyed his meal. At least, he was until he noticed one of the men from before, next to them and staring down at Skullette as if had just been handed the whole Goat to eat.

"Can I help you with something?" Skullette asked not even looking up at him yet sounding calm as though his presence didn't matter to her.

"Me and my buddy's have a wager and I was wondering if you could settle it." He had a gruff voice which was deep and seductive at the moment, and Gunnar did not like this at all.

"What kind of wager?" Skullette asked sitting back to look at the man with her piercing blue eyes, stunning the man for a moment as he was drawn to them.

Coming back to reality at a growl from Gunnar, the man grinned. Apparently happy he was pissing the young man off. "We were wagering on whether or not you want to have some fun with us is all." His grin was wide and he was towering over Skullette now, trying to whisper his intentions to her, yet still be in ear shot of Gunnar.

Before Skullette could respond Gunnar was out of his seat, fist in the air where the man had been, and the gruff man was on the floor with a slight red mark on his face staring at the boy that had just dared to hit him.

"She would never go with an asshole like you. So why don't you go find yourself a real whore!" Gunnar said standing over the guy looking ready to kill.

The man just grinned and stood up, towering over Gunnar by about a foot. "And who are you to say that she doesn't want to come with me? Maybe she is just waiting for the right moment to be rid of you, and have a real man show her how it's done." He was smiling waiting for Gunnar to react to this comment.

"You are going to be so sorry you said that." Gunnar said bringing back his fist and getting a good hit into the man's stomach. Or at least he thought so. The man only laughed as he puffed out his chest.

"You think you could take me down so easily?" He laughed more, before bringing back his own fist and bringing it to Gunnar's face.

In a swift movement Gunnar evaded the fist by squatting and bringing his foot behind the man, he was able to swing his leg and knock the man to the ground. The man hit the floor hard as Gunnar righted himself. The man quickly got up and started swinging while Gunnar ducked and dodged the fists before finding an opening at the man's side and put his fist into it.

The man stopped mid punch to hold his side and try to get his breath back. That was a mistake, Gunnar took this opportunity to slam his fists many times into the man's face. A tooth and blood flew from the man's mouth before Gunnar's foot slammed into it making the man fall to the ground. Feeling as though the man was going to stay down he started to walk away only for a foot to slam into his back making him fly, gut first, into a table. Gunnar spun around and out of the way as a fist came down on the table smashing it to pieces. Gunnar then jumped up, pressing his feet against the wall and used it to launch himself at the attacking man.

While the boys fought Skullette decided to ask the barmaid about the man Gunnar was fighting.

"Excuse me, but what can you tell me about the man my… boyfriend is fighting?" Skullette asked the barmaid at the bar. Skullette figured if she said he was her boyfriend the fight wouldn't look stupid or pointless to anyone but her.

The barmaid looked away from the half destroyed dining area to see Skullette in front of her. "He's the black smith. One of the strongest protectors here. I've never seen him fight like this. What started this fight?"

Skullette had to think about how to answer this carefully without looking stupid for not taking his offer. "He said he wanted me to go back to his place so he and his buddy's could have some fun. I have a boyfriend, who I care about very much. A little fun, isn't fair to him, so I turned him down or rather, my boyfriend is showing him I'm not interested for me. I'm sorry about the tables and chairs."

A crash from the door breaking via the man's fist was heard shortly after the explanation. "And the door." Another fist slammed into the fire pit stones. "And the fire pit." A final slam was heard as the man ran into the wall making it become a hole in a semi- shape of his body. "And the wall." Taking out a few silver coins she handed them to the maid. "This is for the meal and some of the damage. Again I am sorry for any trouble we may have caused. Thank you for the meal." She said before making her way through the broken door and outside where the two men were still fighting.

The man looked to be breathing heavy while Gunnar looked barely out of breath. After all, he was only dodging while the man was doing all the punching.

"Well little man, you're better than I thought. But that won't save you from me for much longer. Your little Beauty will be mine and there is nothing, you can do, to stop me." He said with an evil smile. This is the point where Gunnar wasn't going to play nice any more. Not only had he referred to Skullette as an object to be won but he insulted him and he was not going to just stand by and take it.

While Gunnar ran at the man ready to continue the fight, Skullette was shopping at the trading post as if nothing was happening. The man there was busy watching the fight that he didn't even see Skullette come up to him. She grabbed a basket, herbs, wrappings, food, and a few jars of wax. When she was done she moved to pay for it, only to have to get the man's attention first.

"Excuse me." She called bringing the man to look at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss. What can I help you with today?" He asked.

"I just need these, and some information." She explained.

Now Gunnar and the man were both breathing hard. Gunnar was more bruised up then he was before but otherwise fine. While the other man was bleeding from cuts on his arms, legs, chest and face. When Gunnar stopped to catch his breath he kept his eyes on the man to make sure he didn't try anything. That's when he noticed all of the cuts on the man. He had never hit him with anything sharp to make the cuts, so how…? That's when he remembered. His Crossbow was still on his arm. That was what had caused all of the scratches. Every time he went to punch him and he missed his cross bow nicked him. "Time to end this." He told the man as he readied his cross bow.

"What are you talkin' about. We're only just getting started!" He yelled running at Gunnar.

Having finished loading his cross bow he aimed at the man's leg and fired. The arrow dug into the man's calf with little effort and he plummeted to the ground with a loud thud.

Seeing that the battle was over Gunnar let out a breath of relief and walked up to the man, but stayed just out of arms reach. "Stay away from my girl." Gunnar threatened before walking off to find Skullette.

She had been headed his way when the man fell to the ground. "You get that out of your system now?" She asked rather calmly, walking passed him.

"Uh, yes." Gunnar said before following her like a baby dragon to its mother.

As they made their way around the mountain not really willing to climb the mountain after Gunnar's fight with the Blacksmith, Gunnar couldn't help but wonder what she had been up to while he fought or where she got all the stuff in the basket. "So what were you up to while I was defending your honor?" he asked. Big mistake.

Skullette spun around on her heal and glared at him. "I was collecting supplies while you were off trying to be the big hero! I never asked you to 'Defend my Honor'! I told you to ignore them. I was going to turn the man down and send him running by threatening him with the dagger on my hip! The next time you decide to 'Defend someone's Honor' Ask First!" She spun back around leaving a slack jawed Gunnar in her wake.

As he came back to his senses a moment later his anger at her started to bubble. Quickly catching up to her, he stopped her in her tracks by grabbing her arm and spinning her around to look at him. "Listen here, I defended you because I knew what guys like that do to girls that turn them down! The last thing we need is for you to be hurt too!"

"So your saying I can't defend myself without getting hurt?" She asked defensively.

"Yes. NO! I mean that you weren't strong enough to face him!" Gunnar tried again with little affect.

"So now I'm not strong enough. Is that it?" Her anger was starting to get the better of her at this point and was facing him without his arm holding her in place.

"Now you're just twisting my words around!" He was yelling at this point and was rather pissed as well.

"Well you're not making your point very clear!" Skullette yelled back at him.

Gunnar just glared at her before storming off in the direction of camp. "And you women wonder why chivalry is dead! Chivalry is dead because Feminism killed it!" he shouted angrily.

She watched him go for a moment before muttering about hot headed macho men trying to prove something.

The walk back to camp had been a silent one, aside from the crunching of snow and frozen grass beneath their feet as they climb up to the cave. Neither uttered a word to the other and when they entered the cave Nightingale could tell from the tension between them that something had happened and it wasn't good. She made her way over to Skullette while growling in Gunnar's direction in the process.

"You have the dragon on your side as well? Women are all the same." Gunnar said before going and sitting in the same spot he had the night before.

He wouldn't admit it, but he hurt, bad. That man was strong and had gotten a few good punches in. Just moving the wrong way hurt like Hel. Though he wouldn't ask for Skullette's help at the moment. They were too mad at each other.

In the mean time, Skullette was whispering what had happened back in town. But instead of nuzzling and comforting her like normal, Nightingale looked at her with a tilted head and walked over to Gunnar before laying her head next to him. At this action Skullette's jaw dropped.

Gunnar looked just as confused at the dragon's actions, and when he looked up at Skullette he could tell she was even more shocked. While neither of them could tell what this action was all about. Nightingale was siding with Gunnar only because he had protected Skullette when she could not.

The next morning was a cold but sunny one. The birds were chirping, greeting the morning sun as they went about their simple day. It was to this music that Skullette awoke from her night's sleep. She had slept alone on the opposite side of the cave as Gunnar. Nightingale had moved back to her original spot in the back of the cave. And Gunnar had stayed where he was when they got back.

Opening her eyes, blinking in the sun light, she looked around the cave. The fire was in embers and Nightingale was still in the back of the cave. When she turned to see if Gunnar was awake, she was shocked to discover he was missing. Getting up quickly she stepped outside to look for him.

"Gunnar." She called as loud as she dared. She didn't know what kinds of animals lived on the main land but at the moment she didn't want to find out. She just wanted to find Gunnar and make sure he wasn't doing something stupid again. "Gunnar!"

Finally after searching the woods for over an hour she came across a pond that was only a few hundred yards from the cave. Deciding to sit for a moment she headed to the edge of the small pond to get a drink, only to stop in her tracks when she saw the back of the one person she had been looking for. He was sitting at the edge of the pond with her bag of herbs and wrappings.

He was struggling to put the bandages on his arm. Not being able to watch him suffer any more she decided to go over and help him.

"You keep this up and we won't have any herbs left." Skullette said sitting down and taking the bandages in one hand and holding his arm in the other to keep it still.

"I don't need your help. I can do it on my own." Gunnar said stubbornly.

"No, you just don't want to talk to me right now cause your still mad, but the truth is that you need my help because you can't wrap these bandages on your arm by yourself." Skullette said tying it off to keep it tight. "There you go, all better. Now let's get going, we have a ways to go." She got up and started to head back to the cave grabbing all of her Herbs before going.

Gunnar was rather pissed at this point. Getting up, he ran to get in front of Skullette and glared down at her. "You are such a hypocrite, you know that?!" He yelled at her. "I told you I didn't need your help just like you claimed to not have needed mine back at the bar in town yesterday!"

Skullette glared back up at him. "I didn't help you because you needed it. I helped you because it was my herbs and Bandages you were using! There is a difference between fighting and helping out of survival!" Skullette yelled back at him. "We don't know when we will run into these plants again so we need to save as much as we can!"

"That's no excuse! It's still the same situation! I told you I didn't need your help and you helped me anyways, making you a hypocrite!" He yelled at her before both went silent. They just glared at one another for a long while until Gunnar sighed in frustration. Turning around he started heading towards the cave. "Fuck it, let's just continue the journey."

After a few steps he notices that Skullette wasn't following him. Turning around he saw that she was looking down at the ground, her small amount of bangs that had grown out the past few weeks hiding her eyes. Walking over to her with another sigh, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and tugged her slightly in the direction of the cave.

A sudden 'Slap!' was heard in the surrounding trees as the birds that had once been singing and flying by now stopped as everything became still. Skullette's hand was still in the air, just past Gunnar's face. A rather nice red hand print was displayed on his cheek, right where Skullette had slapped him. When he looked to see her expression her bangs still hid her eyes. Managing to refrain from hitting her, he couldn't hold back his anger. Getting up in her face once again, or rather towering over her and trying to look into her eyes only to see blond bangs blocking his view, he yells, "To quote a girl I respect, 'I Can Take Care Of My Self!' " and with that being his last word, he ran off back into the woods.

While Skullette had managed to stay upright and hold back her emotions she was unable to do so any longer, now she was all alone. Falling to her knees she let the tears slip past her eyes and fall onto the ground only to have the rain join them. She didn't care about the rain, She didn't care what happened to her now. All she cared about, was gone from her life, and she had no idea on how to bring it back.

**That's a nice place to stop. Tell me what you think with a review please! Thank you.**


	6. Life On The Road, Or Sky

**Ok… you all know the routine... I don't own How To Train Your Dragon or its characters… but I do own all new characters in this story… which just happens to be all of them so far. At the end please review and tell me what you think. Thank you. Now on with the story.**

**Chapter 6: Life On The Road, Or Sky.**

The rain was beating down hard outside the cave Gunnar had found in his haste to get away from Skullette. His cheek still stung but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his aching heart. She had slapped him after everything that they had gone through. She had slapped him and he felt as though the world had stopped at that very moment. But one thing still bothered him. _Why_ had she slapped him. She wasn't the violent type, in the few actually fighting practices they did out in the woods back on Gurand, he had learned that she would injure or disable before she would even think about killing someone. Even when it meant her life.

He was merely waiting for the rain to stop at this point. He didn't know where he would go after but he didn't care. It was then that he looked down at his bandaged arm. Skullette had complained about not needing help with the man that was flirting with her back in town, but did he need her to help him with his arm? _"There is a difference between fighting and helping out of survival!"_ that is what Skullette had said. Was there a difference? He had always been fighting. It seemed so natural to him. He couldn't see if there was a difference or not. At least not until he thought back to Skullette and the village.

The villagers had always treated her like a disease. Like she would kill them if they touched her in any way. But she never fought physically back; she just faced it and kept moving. Was she always fighting silently? She may not raise a hammer to the villagers but she always tried to prove them wrong. That she was capable of fighting like they were. She didn't fight with a weapon. She fought with her head, and her Herbs.

"_We don't know when we will run into these plants again and need to save as much as we can!"_ Did she have a point? The herbs worked well, but she had said there was enough to last the village till spring… hadn't she? What if she had said that to make the villagers believe she was done with her herbs. If this was true, how much was there really?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a loud growling cry from outside the cave. Getting up and walking to the edge he glanced outside trying to see what was out there. Another cry, this time closer. Why did it sound so familiar to him? That's when he saw the black mass walking just outside the cave entrance. Nightingale, what was she doing here? Why wasn't she with Skullette? He was sure she would have gone back to the cave when the rain started. But then why would Nightingale be out in this weather, which all dragon's hated getting to wet, roaring out into the woods? Finally he decided he couldn't let her stay out there by herself.

He ran out into the pouring rain to the mighty dragon. "Nightingale!" he called over the storm. The dragon turned to see him running to her. Deciding to make it easier for them both she bounded over to him. "Nightingale, we have to get inside, come with me, I found a cave!" He turned on his heal and headed the few feet it took to get back to the cave.

Once both were inside, Nightingale shook off all the water on her scales before burning the ground below her in a circle to warm up.

Gunnar went back over to his spot against the wall after ringing out his damp clothes. He relaxed and looked at Nightingale for a moment before speaking. "What are you doing out in this weather, Nightingale? Skullette would never have let you outside."

At hearing this Nightingale lifted her head and looked around the cave trying to find something. When she didn't see what she was looking for she got right up and started looking all over. Gunnar watched her carefully as she looked all over the cave. What was she looking for, fish? After a moment Nightingale's eyes fell onto Gunnar's and he could see the worry and anger in her eyes. Not being able to resist any more, he asked the question that had been bothering him ever since he first saw her outside in the rain. "What are you looking for?"

She advanced on him so quickly he pushed his body back against the rock wall. She had a look on her face that, if she could speak, would be around the line of, "Where is it?" or "What have you done with it?" She stopped in front of him and growled down at the young man, as if expecting an answer.

"Why aren't you with Skullette back in the cave?" He decided to ask in attempt to make her stop looking at him with murder.

At the question Nightingale stopped and looked at him with wide eye's in realization before looking out into the storm again. Following her gaze Gunnar wondered what the dragon was planning. That's when he realized she was going to go back out into the storm. "Nightingale, no. You're not going out into that storm." Not listening she bounded outside and started her roars again. Confusing Gunnar for a minute. Why was she doing this? Skullette would never…. Then it dawned on him. She was looking for Skullette. Had she not gone back to the cave? Was she still out in the storm? Another roar boomed over the rain.

If she was still out there…. He had to find her; the storm was bad and if she wasn't in a cave or safe he would never forgive himself. He had been the last one to be with her. Nightingale had no idea where she had been outside of the cave. Making up his mind he got up and headed outside. He came up beside Nightingale and yelled over the storm, "You're looking for Skully, aren't you!" A nod was his response from the dragon. "I don't know where she went but I know where I last saw her. I can take you there, come on." And they made their way back to the pond.

As they reached the side of the pond, he couldn't believe his eyes. Skullette was on the ground in the same spot as she was when he ran off. Why hadn't she moved? Gone and found a cave? Stayed warm and ride the storm out? Why was she still here? Running over to her he yelled her name and got no response. She didn't move and she didn't speak. He rolled her over and found her eyes not even open. She had passed out, but why?

A small roar from Nightingale brought him back. Now was not the time for questions. He had to get Skully out of the rain and where it's warm. Picking her up in his arms he hopped onto Nightingale's back and she took them back to the cave without a word.

Reaching the cave, Gunnar hopped down off of Nightingale and placed a soaked Skullette on the floor next to the dead fire. Nightingale went over to her, after shaking off all of the water from her scales, and laid down wrapping a wing around her to warm her slowly so she didn't freeze to death. Body heat was the best way to warm someone up after being out in a storm like that, if she was warmed any other way; she could catch cold and possibly die. Meanwhile Gunnar was putting dried sticks he and Skullette had collected the night before and started a fire.

Making his way over to the Dragon and her rider he bent down over Skullette to see if she was getting any warmer. When his hand touched her forehead, he was in shock at how hot she was. It was then that he realized that her breathing was labored and she was shivering. She was too cold and wet. The heat wasn't helping any.

A blush came to his face as he realized what he had to do. He had to get Skullette's wet clothes off of her. That was a violation of her personal space and body, but he would rather be hated for seeing part of her bare body than to see her die and know he could have prevented it.

So making up his mind he went to the pack and got out a set of new clothes to dress her in when he had gotten the wet clothes off of her. Finding the correct clothes he went over to Skullette and Nightingale. "I'm sorry for having to do this Skullette but seeing as you're not going to wake up any time soon and could die if I don't change you I really have no other choice." With that and a prayer to the gods above to keep him alive after this, he went to work.

First he took off her fur jacket, then went for the shirt. Just as he moved it past her stomach he heard Nightingale growl and cover Skullette from his eyes, while nipping at his hands to make him let go of her shirt. Looking up at the angry dragon and glared at her. "If I don't take off her wet clothes she could FREEZE to death! Is that what you want?" he asked her angrily.

Nightingale seemed to think it over for a moment before lifting her wing off of Skullette just enough for Gunnar to grab the shirt. As soon as his fingers grasped the fabric her wing came down and covered Skullette enough of her body so Gunnar couldn't see anything but her face.

Gunnar took a moment to smile at the dragon beside him and heard a soft growling purr come from the protective Night Fury. He looked back at Skullette and pulled her shirt off making her arms lift up with the shirt and slide out of the sleeves slowly.

He laid her head gently back down onto the ground before moving around the dragon's wing to the other side. This was the tricky part, how to get her pants off without seeing her top or anything that he shouldn't.

Once again it seemed Nightingale had an idea. Tightening her wing slightly more to her body, she was able to keep Skullette's top covered while Gunnar was able to see the pants and nothing above that.

Taking a deep breath he went to her pants and loosened them before taking the sides down slightly past her hips. As he did So Nightingale's wing followed covering any skin that was exposed to the young man. She did so as if she was flexing the back of her wing to lay on the floor as if coming in for a landing. Once he finally had the pants off of her he hung them along with her shirt and jacket on a rock close to the fire so they could dry. Her shoes were placed close to the fire to dry while he dressed their owner.

Grabbing the dry clothes he made his way back over to the dragon wing covered girl and started dressing her. Starting with her legs first. He slipped one foot in and then the other, making sure not to look up from her feet as he lifted her legs one at a time to pull her pants on correctly. Once he had them up to her mid thigh he sighed again. This was the hardest part of all, he had to get the pants up to her waist but in order to do that he had to go past her hips, and that meant seeing more then he should.

A growl alerted him to the dragon that the wing was attached to. She was glaring at him as if warning him not to do anything stupid. Letting out a breath he decided to grab the sides of the pants and pull up past her hips while looking at the stone wall to his right.

Thinking he had them all the way up he thought it was safe to look down. To his utter embarrassment he saw her lower abdomen and well some blond short hair, he still had four inches to go till he was at her waist with her pants but found that they didn't go any higher. Taking a look at the pants now he'd say that they were slightly shorter than the ones that were drying. Deciding to give them one more tug for good measure he quickly tied them.

Getting up Nightingale could see his blush and growled at him. "I didn't see anything." He defended, to shocked at what he _had_ seen to be angry at being accused of such a thing.

He made his way around and took one arm and put it through the shirt sleeve then doing the same with the second and finally her head. He pushed her up so that her back was the only thing facing him and pulled the shirt down till it went past her pants.

Relieved that, that was over he laid her back down and Nightingale covered the girl enough to keep her warm now. He went over to check on the boots to find that they were now dry and warm. He quickly took them and placed them on Skullette's feet. Feeling he had done everything he could he sat down and started to cook some fish and hope that Skullette would wake up soon.

Gunnar sat by the fire, stomach full but his worry was far from gone. Skullette, while she had stopped shaking, hadn't woken up as of yet. He kept the fire burning and checking on Skullette from time to time, but there was only the slight warmth of her skin returning. Feeling her forehead he could tell her fever broke so now he had to make sure that her temperature didn't drop drastically. If it did it would be very bad for her and she might die.

It was with a small noise from Nightingale that Gunnar looked up from the fire to see what had roused the mighty dragon. He watched as Nightingale examined Skullette. She sniffed her and nudged her nose against Skullette's arm while whining quietly.

Gunnar's eyes turned to the girl and he couldn't believe his eyes. Skullette was waking up. She was going to be just fine. With a sigh of relief he walked slowly over to the rider and her dragon. "So you finally returned to the living." He half joked. As he watched her open her eyes he noticed something. She was awake but she wasn't aware of what was going on or that she was even awake. Her eyes were dull and looked as though the very life was taken out of them.

"Skully?" he called to her. No response. However, she did turn her head to look at him. So some part of her was there. "Come on Skully. I cooked some fish, are you hungry?" he asked as if hoping to bring her back completely.

She just looked at him for a moment before turning away and looking up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes slowly, she went back to sleep.

A whine came from the mighty dragon as she laid her head back next to Skullette's as if protecting her like a mother would her children. Gunnar came closer and wiped her bangs out of her face. He watched as her breathing slowed and she curled up into the warmth that was Nightingale.

Taking a long look at her, he couldn't help but notice that she looked tired. More so than she normally did. As if she had just spent the last few nights with no sleep. What had caused this change in her so suddenly? Had it been their fight? Had he hurt her that badly? All he was doing was standing up for her.

He stayed by her side that night as she slept. Getting up only to feed the fire. It was during one of these treks that he looked outside. The rain had turned into a light snow and was slowly starting to stop, which was a good thing. It meant that they would be able to leave as soon as Skullette came to her senses.

Walking back over he could see Nightingale look at him with her head still on the floor. He had gotten better at reading her facial expressions. This one was a light glare but he couldn't tell what she was trying to tell him. Shrugging it off for now, he sat down next to them and started to relax. Skullette had yet to wake up consciously, and if she didn't soon. Well, he didn't want to think about it right now. He just needed to figure out how to get her to snap out of it.

Deciding to sleep for a little while he turned his head to look at Skullette for a moment before looking at Nightingale. "Wake me when the fire starts going out. I won't be of any use if I'm too tired to move." Satisfied by a small nod from Nightingale he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night Gunnar was woken by a growl and a rough shoved in the direction of the fire. He landed just at the rim of the fire pit but his hair was less lucky. It was dangerously close to the fire. So much so that when Gunnar moved his head, his hair nearly caught on fire.

Moving swiftly in his now fully awake state, he took his hair and made sure it wouldn't go up in flames. After a moment he looks over his hair only to see it darker, almost a black color on the end of his bangs.

He turned around to see who had woken him so harshly. His eyes landed on…

"What was that for?" Gunnar yelled. Nightingale had pushed him in order to wake him up. The dragon glared at him before looking down at Skullette and then at the fire. Watching her he realized, after about three times of this motion, what she was trying to tell him. The fire needed to be warmer, Skullette was getting cold.

Grabbing some wood he got to work on making the fire warmer and then headed back over to the dragon and the shivering girl. He looked down at her sadly, only to be surprised when she opened her eyes. They were still dull but slightly more focused now.

She looked up at him slowly. Her eyes glimmering with sadness as she saw him. He watched as she didn't move, nor blink as she didn't look away. At least not until Nightingale growled lightly to get her attention. Blinking, she turned to look at her dragon partner. Slowly reaching out a hand she started to pet the mighty beast. Then the smallest whispering voice filled the cave. "I'm Sorry."

Gunnar was so surprised he didn't even see Skullette's hand leave her dragon as the girl fell back into a deep sleep. He just sat there for a long while trying to understand what she was sorry for. That's when he remembered his cheek that was stinging earlier. Or was it about his arm and her bandaging it when he told her not to? Was she really sorry about all of it? Or was she saying sorry to the dragon for worrying her?

As the sun began to rise in the sky, Gunnar stretched and looked around to see the fire just licking at the last bits of fire wood and the sun shining into the cave. The storm from last night was over, finally.

Turning around to see Nightingale still asleep he turned his attention back to the girl now back to her normal color. Her hands and forehead were warm again and the cold had left her body. Sighing in relief he added a few sticks to the fire and went out to find some food.

He came back about an hour later with a row of twelve fish over his shoulder. To his surprise Skullette was up and feeding the fire with some more wood she apparently brought back from the woods. He quickly set the fish down next to the fire before going over to Skullette. "Are you sure you should be up right now? You just got over a fever and nearly freezing to death, you should be resting."

She poked the fire a few times before turning away from him. He was about to yell at her for ignoring him but he was stopped as her voice reached his ears. It was sad and almost sounded like she was embarrassed to say anything. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you and slapped you."

He sat there in silence for a moment before deciding to clarify which she was talking about. "Is this including the man at the bar?" he needed to make sure he knew exactly what she was apologizing for so he knew what to do next.

A sigh crossed past her lips before she nodded her head so he could see. Understanding this entirely he thought for a moment before speaking as well. "I'm sorry I was so adamant about defending you. You can defend yourself. I just want to make sure nothing happens to you. You're my friend after all."

Faster than one could blink Skullette spun around in her spot and stared at him wide eyed. In their village she never had friends. At first it was because she was the chief's daughter and no one wanted to disrespect the chief by making his only child injured or cry. Later as they found out she was less Viking-like then the others, they made fun of her verbally. She never once knew what having a friend was like and now, here was Gunnar telling her he did everything in the village because he was her friend. That was the reason for his actions.

This realization brought tears to Skullette's eyes before burying her head in his chest crying. This action startled Gunnar before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and back and held her tight. A muffled, "I'm Sorry." vibrated through his chest from the crying girl.

"It's okay. I know." He rubbed her back trying to get her to stop as all her frustrations over the years poured from her eyes. Every terrible word that was ever said to her; every word that was said when people thought she wasn't listening. And every word her so called father ever said about her and what he had been forcing her to do.

After a few more 'Sorry's' and more comforting words from Gunnar, she pulled herself back together and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you Gunnar." Skullette said smiling at him.

He grinned back before a soft growl interrupted them. Nightingale walked over and nudged her head against Skullette's side while purring. Giggling She petted her head, "Thank you too, Nightingale."

"Well, now that that is all settled how about we get on our way?" Gunnar suggested.

"We will, I just want to do one more thing first." Skullette said with a grin.

Nightingale and Gunnar looked at each other and then back at her confused.

Skullette and Gunnar were back in the village an hour later. "Are you sure you want to go in alone?" Gunnar asked concerned.

"I'll be fine. And if I need your help, my scream is your signal." Skullette assured him.

"Fine but if I hear so much as a wine or whimper come from you inside I'm going in." Gunnar promised.

There was no arguing with that. She was going to do something crazy after all. It reassured both of them that he was close by just in case she needed him.

"All right, I'll be back soon." Skullette opened the door to the blacksmith stall and walked in.

"Well, look-y what we got here Babbitt." The man from yesterday called as he watched Skullette walk in. "The Girly came for some fun after all."

"Actually I'm here to collect the money you cost me." Skullette said calmly while glaring at the guy's friend.

"What money? If anything, you owe me something." He said before licking his lips as he walked around the anvil towards her.

She took out her bow and notched an arrow on it. "I wouldn't do that if you know what's good for you." She threatened. He stopped in his tracks while glaring at her.

"What's a girl like you going to do with that? You should be in the house making food or better yet under me in bed." He grinned suggestively.

A moment later an arrow went flying past his ear cutting the side of it as it went. "Like I was saying, you owe me money and I'll be taking it either by force or you can just hand it over." She said notching another arrow.

"Feisty, I like that about you." He walked closer to her grinning like mad the whole way. "And now it's time to put you in your place." He was about to grab her when an arrow went through his throat.

"I did warn you." Skullette muttered as the man grabbed his throat before falling to the floor in a heap of his own blood. She walked around him and over to the other blacksmith. "So are you going to pay me or do you want to end up like your friend over there?"

The man quickly ran over to the back door and came back moments late with a small sack of money. "Here, half our earnings please take it."

She smiled at him and took the money. "Thank you, have a nice day. Oh, and one more thing." She turned around and shot him in the calf. "Tell no one about this. Not even if they threaten your life because if you do you'll end up worse than your friend over there." She said menacingly as he fell to the ground holding his leg.

Getting a pained nod she grabbed her three arrows, the two that was across the stall and the third that was protruding from the man's leg making him cry in agony as she did so.

She left a moment later and greeted Gunnar who was standing just outside the door way. "So how did it go?" he asked while silently checking her for any scrapes or bruises.

"Better than I thought. We can go now if you're ready." She said before walking back through the woods. He quickly followed her and no one knew it was them that had killed the blacksmith and the other said he had driven a nail into his leg and before he could reach the other blacksmith he was dead. Claiming never to have seen who did it.

"All packed, ready to go Gunnar?" Skullette asked as she hopped onto Nightingale's back.

"Just one thing that bothers me. How much of that medicine do you actually have?" he asked looking at her with concern.

Sighing she leaned forward waiting for him to get on. "I only have two jars of antidote, a jar of healing herbs and maybe half a jar of herbs that help fight a cold or high fever, other than that I only have a few herbs that I got here or gathered when on Gurand." She explained.

Nodding in understanding he hopped on and held on to her waist. "All right so I'll leave the herbs and remedies to you then. I won't touch your jars unless you ask me to."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Skullette said grinning at him. A moment later Nightingale took to the air and they were off.

Later that day around high noon a ship came into harbor. A large man with brown hair and braided beard walked onto the island. He walked over to the closest stall which just happened to be the blacksmith. "Excuse me, have you seen a girl with blond hair in a braid and blue eyes? She would be traveling with a young man about the same age as herself." His voice was calm but his green eyes told the blacksmith that if he didn't talk he was going to die.

"N-no, no one like that came here." He quickly closed the door and secured it.

Growling Bundar walked to the pub to ask one of the bar maids. "Have you seen a girl with blond hair in a braid and a boy traveling with her?" he asked.

She looked at him warily before answering. "No, best to look elsewhere." Before Skullette went to the blacksmiths' she'd paid the barmaid for the damages and asked her not to tell anyone that they had been there which took some bribing.

Growling Bundar left but as he reached the edge of the village near the docks he was stopped by a man selling herbs and some baskets. "I saw the girl she didn't tell me where she was going but her and the boy were headed for the woods my guess would be that they are headed south maybe south west." The man explained.

Grinning, Bundar thanked the man before heading to his ship and setting sail. "I'll find you and when I do you are going to pay."

**Dun, dun, dun, that's it for the chapter. To find out what happens next it will be up next week. So leave me a review and I might put it up sooner. Thanks everyone. Oh and I Finally Made it to 5,000 words! Whoot, whoot!**


	7. Only Getting Started

**No I don't own How to Train Your Dragon… and yes Hiccup, Astrid and everyone else is going to show up… if I do this right… either next chapter or the one after so thank you for your patience. Please read and review I could really use the feedback thanks.**

**Chapter 7: Only Getting Started.**

The weather was holding up as they made their way through the clouds and sky. It was just past high noon when a rumble could be heard. Looking behind her Skullette glanced at Gunnar with a raised eyebrow. "Hungry?" she questioned. He nodded before she turned around to start looking for a spot to land.

Not long after, she spotted an island in the distance. "Look, there's the Island. We need to land away from the Village, so we'll go to the North side of the island."

"Sounds good to me. Then we can get some food in our stomachs." Gunnar said with a grin. Skullette couldn't see it, but she could hear it in his voice.

They quickly landed and after reminding Nightingale to not wonder to close to the village, they made their way to the mead house.

They first made their appearance with the chief and he allowed them to stay a few nights before going on their way, though he did warn them no to cause any trouble.

"Thank you sir, actually I was hoping to find someone." Skullette said. She explained her situation leaving out the dragon part and merely telling him that she had 'disgraced' her step father who wanted to control her and so she ran away.

"Yes, I see your problem. Unfortunately, no one in this village has fought with your island. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck in finding them though." He encouraged as he got up and left.

"Well that was helpful." Gunnar said sarcastically.

"At least we know they aren't here. But didn't he seem, I don't know… off to you? Like he's hiding something." Skullette asked.

"A bit, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Come on let's go get some dinner." Gunnar encouraged while leading her up towards the dining hall.

They made the long trek up to the dining hall. The village was much like their own but instead of big burly men and women that Vikings are, these people were slender and didn't have many weapons. It's no wonder that this wasn't the village they were looking for.

"Do you think we will ever find my Father and brother?" Skullette asked as she opened the door of the dining hall.

Before Gunnar could answer there was a roar of laughter and cheers all around them. "Silence, Silence my friends! Now I know that the time is coming for our festival but we must first choose our girl! Now if all the un-betrothed women will step up on this table!" a young man no older than 20 years of age pointed to the table beside him. He was brown haired, brown eyed and slightly rugged and had a slight build as if he were a guard or blacksmith of only a year.

Skullette was pushed on to the table along with some other girls who didn't seem to like being put on display. The men all cheered while hooting and hollering. Skullette looked out at Gunnar with a confused look. He understood and quickly asked one of the men beside him. "Excuse me, but what festival? And what's going to happen to the girls?"

"We offer a virgin to the Dragon on the other island as a means of protection from dragon raids every year. Then we hold a festival to celebrate the year's protection from the dragon." An older man of about 6' 10" said. He had a white beard and soft blue eyes that showed years of wisdom.

While Gunnar was talking to the old man Skullette was on the table watching as the men cheered or booed for a girl to be chosen. She quickly whispered to the girl next to her when she knew all eyes were on a brunette three girls down from her. "What are we doing up here?"

The girl waited a moment to make sure no one was watching them. "They are choosing a girl to be sacrificed for this year's protection by the dragon. He saves us from the raids each year and in return we sacrifice a virgin to him."

Before Skullette could ask anything else the man's hand went over the girl's head which gained a louder cheer than the others but still gained a few boo's by a group of young men in the far corner of the crowd.

Then the man's hand fell over her and there was an ample applause from the crowd. Only one man booed and that was Gunnar. But his boo was over powered by the cheers of the men. Terrified she looked to Gunnar for help only to see him look around at all the men who were cheering and return to her face with a worried expression.

"There we have it men! Our girl for the Festival!" The man behind her said to the crowd. The other girls got down while Skullette was forced to stay on the table. "She will be dressed and prepared for the Sacrifice by the other women for tomorrow night when the Dragon will come and take her! Lead her to the Chamber of Sacrifice! No one is to speak with her until the Festival where she will be placed at the stone Alter and Sacrificed to the Dragon!" more cheers filled the air as Skullette was placed on a woven chair and marched past Gunnar who was calling her name over the crowd.

She was moved from the Hall, through the town and to a small house that was decorated with Dragons and Girls in a kneeling position. It was a small house made only for one person and barely used. There was only one door and small slanted windows for air to circulate from.

"Here our Virgin will stay till tomorrow night. No one is to come to her chamber until the festival, where she is to be moved to the altar." The man said holding up a torch so he can be seen by all. Gunnar was in the back of the crowd of men while they cheered.

Skullette was led into the house after the speech and left alone. Inside was a small bed, a fire place, a cooking pot, some food to cook and mead to drink. She placed the Fire wood into the pit and lit it with the stones that she found next to the wood. After getting a decent flame she settled down on the log and held her knees to her chest. How was she going to get out of this one?

Gunnar was making his way back to where Nightingale was to wait out till night fell. When he arrived Nightingale noticed that Skullette wasn't with him and he had a worried look on his face.

"Nightingale, Skullette has been chosen by the village to be a dragon sacrifice. And before you start growling at me for not stopping it, I tried but the crowd over powered me. I couldn't stop them. But we need to get her out of that Sacrifice house and get the Hel out of here." He said in an almost panicked tone.

Nightingale growled softly trying to calm him.

"You're right, this is no time to panic. Right now we need a plan. I need to wait till night when I can sneak in and get her out of there." Gunnar said more calmly. He started pacing trying to think of an idea of how to sneak her from the other side of town and back to Nightingale without being seen by anyone.

The Night Fury growled while pushing a bag toward the pacing young man. She managed to get his attention and indicated to the bag. He bent down and looked inside. He found a book with all kinds of plants and recipe's in it. Even drawn pictures of what the plants look like and descriptions as well. "This is perfect! Thanks Nightingale, now let's see if we can't find something that can help Skullette." He flipped through the book looking for anything that could help.

Skullette was poking the fire as she sat on the log, wondering as to how to get out of this situation. "If I can't escape, then maybe Gunnar can get me out." She tried to reason to herself, trying not to think of all the things that could happen to him by the older and stronger guards. Suddenly, she heard music from the outside. It was soft and intimidating at the same time but something about it seemed to enchant her and make her listen so closely that it was all she could hear. (Mordreds Lullaby – Heather Dale)

_**(Humming starts)  
Hush Child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And carry you down into sleep,**_

_**Child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And carry you down into sleep.**_

_**Guileless son,  
I'll shape your belief,  
And you'll always know that your fathers a thief,  
And you won't understand the cause of your grief,  
But you'll always follow the voices beneath.**_

_**(Girls chant)  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me.**_

The girls of the village were marching to the Sacrifice house to prepare Skullette for her last day on earth.

_**Guileless son,  
You're spirit will hate her,  
The flower who married my brother the traitor,  
And you will expose his Puppeteer behavior,  
For you are the proof of how he betrayed her Loyalty,**_

_**Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me.**_

_**Hush child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And carry you down into sleep,**_

_**Child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And carry you down into sleep.**_

_**Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me,**_

_**Guileless son,  
Each day you grow older,  
Each moment I'm watching my vengeance unfold,**_

_**For the Child of my body,  
The flesh of my soul,  
Will die in returning the birthright he stole.**_

_**Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me.**_

_**Hush Child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And Carry you down into sleep,**_

_**Child,  
The darkness will rise from the deep,  
And carry you down into sleep.**_

_**Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me.**_

_**Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Loyalty,  
Loyalty, Only to me.**_

As the song ended, the girls stopped in front of the Sacrifice house and entered before closing the door quickly and quietly behind them.

The group of five girls circled Skullette, who was now coming out of her daze from the song. "What's going on?" She asked looking from one girl to the others. She recognized a few of the girls from before. One was the redhead she had spoken to before on the table. She couldn't see her face because each girl had a mask on, a simple mask that showed no expression.

One of the younger girls gestured for her to sit down in the only chair in the room. Not one to stand being denied an answer she refused to do anything they asked. "I want to know what the Hel is going on. All I know is that I'm being sacrificed to a dragon I owe nothing to so you people can live worry free for another year? And am I going to get any answer to anything that is going on?" Skullette nearly yelled at them.

The girls looked from one another in what would seem to be confusion but no one could tell behind the masks. Finally the redhead from before stepped back outside for a moment. No one spoke or moved while she was gone, and when she came back, she indicated for Skullette to sit in the chair. Instead of moving, her jaw nearly went to the floor in shock. "No! I didn't volunteer for this like you did."

The girls again looked to each other for a moment before the redhead looked back at Skullette and shook her head while indicating with her arms the other girls. Skullette took a moment to understand what she meant. "None of you volunteered for the voting?" the girls nodded to her.

Unbelievable. The men sacrificed the young girls against their will. Girls that could one day bare them children. "So let me get this straight. The men bring young girls they know or believe to be virgins up to a table and they all vote on who should be Sacrificed?" they nodded. "And because I'm the outsider, I was chosen to save you girls from being the Sacrificed." More nods. "Has anyone ever escaped the Sacrifice house before?" The girls shook their heads sadly. "Great." Skullette said sarcastically. "Let's get this over with then."

Skullette reluctantly sat down in the chair as the girls surrounded her and started the preparations for the Sacrifice.

Gunnar and Nightingale were finishing the, what Gunnar liked to call, sleep sticks. It was a mixture of strong scented plants boiled down together to make a wax like stick that was so strong when smelt it makes a person pass-out. But the only way to make them smell was to burn them. (A/N: think of it as an incense stick with an anesthesia effect to it)

"Alright Nightingale, you wait here. I'll be back with Skullette, and I also made sure that everything was packed, so be ready to take off when you see us." Gunnar said calmly. The sun had set hours ago so most of the village should be asleep anyways.

After gaining a nod from the Night Fury, he made his way back to town with a hand full of sleep sticks. Over his face, he had a few of the left over bandages so that he didn't breathe in the smoke from the sleep sticks.

When he arrived in town he kept to the shadows so if anyone was still awake they wouldn't see or hear him. Back in Gurand he was known as Gunnar the Steadyfoot for his ability to move from one part of town to another without anyone noticing him... and for his grace and cunning while hunting. He mostly used this skill to sneak away from the other teens that annoyed him, but now his skill will be put to the test. Free Skullette from the Sacrifice house and get back to Nightingale without being caught.

So far no one had seen him and most of the village was asleep. He scurried around one of the houses and kept to the shadow on the fire lights from the people making patrol. For not having to worry about Dragon attacks these people sure did keep a close watch out for danger. He shrugged it off at the moment as being cautious and made his way to where Skullette was being held.

When he was only two houses and a road away, he stuck one of the sleep sticks into a torch and quickly lit it before moving to the next house and doing the same to that torch while one of the guards had his back turned.

Finally he got to the Sacrifice house but the door was being guarded by two strong guards. Thinking quickly he moved more into the shadows and reaching up to the torch he stuffed one of the sleep sticks into the torch and quickly went around the house to the other side to do the same to that torch.

"Do you smell something?" the first guard asked looking to his companion for some indication as to what that smell was.

"It wasn't me." The second one said defiantly.

"Not that, this is different. It smells like… like… li…" The guard passed out on to the floor soon followed by the second guard who landed on top of the first.

"That was easy." Gunnar said quietly to himself before making his way inside and closing the door behind him. "Skullette?"

Skullette was poking at the fire when she heard the door open and she quickly ran behind the bed so that if it was the girls again they would have to fight with her to get her out. But when she heard Gunnar's voice she popped up out of her hiding spot and nearly ran to him. "Gunnar, thank the gods. I thought you were one of the girls coming to make some changes to my outfit or something." Skullette said letting him go smiling.

She wore a white simple dress that went to her feet. A rope belt around her waist and her hair was up in a tight braid with a woven tiara like head piece with flowers flowing from the head piece through her braid. "How did you get in here?"

Gunnar showed her the last of the Sleep sticks before grinning. "Borrowed a little recipe you wrote; very handy. How did you come up with it?" Gunnar asked.

"I'll tell you on the way, but those don't last as long as you think we have to go... now." Skullette said hurrying to the door with Gunnar on her tail. They quickly made it past the sleeping guards and past one of the Patrol guards before finally making it to the woods. They nearly ran the entire way to Nightingale. The Night Fury nearly pounced on Skullette when she saw her unharmed.

"It's good to see you too but we need to get out of here. Those Guards are probably waking up as we speak and when they find me gone, the whole village will be looking for us." Skullette said grabbing her bow and quiver while Gunnar grabbed the two bags handing one off to Skullette before they hopped onto Nightingale and made to the sky.

Just as the edge of the town came into sight they could see the guards running around yelling. "And that is our cue to go North. Come on Nightingale; let's get as far away from here as we can." With an all too happy growl she complied and they made their way North and away from the crazy village.

The sun was just rising when Skullette noticed an island ahead of them. After riding almost all night Gunnar was nearly asleep and Skullette wasn't far behind him. As for Nightingale she was ready for a very long nap after all of the excitement from the other island. But there was one thing she was sure of. Skullette gets into too much trouble and it needs to stop.

When they landed, no one bothered to make camp. Skullette passed out on the ground after laying her quiver and bow down next to her pack and Gunnar didn't even bother to do that much; he just leaned up against a tree and fell asleep. Nightingale laid down next to Skullette and covered her with one wing to keep her warm the dress she was in was not very warm and she could easily catch cold again.

Later on that morning, Nightingale awoke to the sounds of twigs breaking and footsteps through the trees. Picking the sleeping Skullette up with her front legs, she glided quickly over to a large group of boulders and laid low.

Gunnar, who had awoken to Nightingale taking off, just caught a glimpse of a figure when an arrow shot out of nowhere and pinned his shirt to the tree he was laying against. When he went to reach for the arrow another arrow shot out and pinned him completely against the tree.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A slender man said. He was tall and had on thick clothing but you could still tell that he was slender but still strong looking. He had a black beard that went past the first three buttons of his fur coat. His black hair went past his shoulders and his eyes nearly matched the color of his hair.

"What do you want?" Gunnar asked, not intimidated by him.

"I could ask you the same question lad. What's someone like you doing all the way out here on my island?" He demanded more than asked. His stare was strong and intense but Gunnar didn't even blink.

"What I do is my business. Now let me go." Gunnar was more agitated than anything at the moment. He didn't like being pinned against anything, nor to have someone in his face that he barely knew let alone smell the person.

"I don't think I will." He said with a grin before turning around. "Take him to town he can be lunch for our new pet." He stated with an evil laugh.

Two men with bows and quivers on their backs came up to Gunnar and tied his hands together behind his back and forced him to follow the man with black hair. One of the men grabbed his pack before following quickly behind.

Skullette, who had woken when the man with black hair was speaking to Gunnar, was shocked to see him pinned to a tree. As she watched him being taken away, she noticed none of them noticed her things that were on the other side of the clearing.

Turning to Nightingale she had a determined look on her face. "I have a feeling this is a trap. We can't let them get you and we can't leave Gunnar here. So here's what we're going to do."

Gunnar was led to a wooden cage and locked inside. His hands were still bound but that wasn't really the problem. He was being lifted into the air over a large dome cage that was dug into the ground. As his cage stopped above the middle of the dome structure, a door down in the rock wall of the cage opened and out stepped a dragon that was all too familiar yet looked magnificently different from any of the others he had seen. A Monstrous Nightmare, it was midnight blue with green eyes that are eerily similar in color to Gunnar's own eyes. Its spines where jagged but slender and would blend in nicely with the night sky.

"That's your pet?" Gunnar yelled at the man with black hair. He was sitting on a large stone chair looking from the side of the dome.

"Yes he is. Paid quite a price for him. The people that caught him for me asked if I wanted it dead or alive. Why would they kill a specimen like that? Besides, once I get him trained, I can conquer so many villages." He laughed before waving his hand in some gesture to proceed.

From the other side of the cage, out stepped a man with a shield and a whip. He looked wary of the beast but proceeded as instructed. The whip came down on the Dragons front legs making slight indents in its scales. From the position Gunnar was in, he could see the pain in the dragon's eyes as the whip hit the same or close to the same spot many times over the next few slashes. Not being able to take it anymore, the Monstrous Nightmare spewed fire at the man with the whip, only to get another slash but this time harder on the back.

"Stop It!" Gunnar yelled at him then turned to the man with black hair. "Can't you see your hurting him?!" This magnificent creature was being punished for nothing. How cruel was this man?

"Yes but in order to tame him, he must first be punished so he knows what to expect when he does something I don't tolerate." He grinned up at Gunnar while the dragon roared out in pain again.

Another roar sent Gunnar over the edge. He couldn't stand by and watch as the Monstrous Nightmare is being tortured. He started struggling with the rope on his wrists and banging around in his cage making it swing from side to side. That is until the man in black said something to make him stop for a moment. "Now, now. We wouldn't want your little girlfriend to see you in a crazed frenzy, now do we?" he asked with a grin on his face. He knew about Skullette.

"What are you talking about?" Gunnar asked confused.

"I know all about you traveling with the girl and the black beast. We saw you early this morning. And just wait till her father hears that she's back. Of course, he won't get her till I have had my fun. It might even do her some good, make her learn her place. Under the man and to always do his bidding." He was smug and cruel; bastards like him didn't deserve to live.

"Don't you DARE touch her!" He screamed at him. "If you so much as touch one part of her, I'll tear out of here and let that Dragon eat you!"

The man just laughed at Gunnar thinking his talk was nothing more than an empty threat. "What can you do from in there? Even if you did get your hands free, you are all the way up there over the dragon's den." He called off the Man with the whip and went elsewhere claiming to need a nap before the girl arrived.

"Skullette, don't you dare come after me." Gunnar prayed while still struggling with the rope. One thing was for sure, how was he going to get out of the cage after he was free of the rope?

A hooded figure made their way through town un-noticed by anyone. They blended into the shadows of the setting sun and kept their head low as they walked. Soon they reached a door with two guards standing watch. The figure took out a stick of something and lit it before rolling it toward the guards and waited. A moment later there were two thumps and both men were asleep. Quickly the figure moved past them taking the keys as they went and slipped inside before anyone saw.

Inside, the figure could see Gunnar hanging from the cage. His hands now free and using the rope to try and grab a nearby cage that was near a staircase. The Figure could see the Dragon's head move around as it observed Gunnar.

Thinking quickly the figure found the crank to the cages and turned it so that Gunnar moved to the staircase and away from the dragon cage.

Gunnar looked down when he felt the cage move again. Looking around he spotted the figure and smiled slightly. Once the cage stopped at the stairs the hooded figure made their way up the stairs and unlocked the cage.

Once out, Gunnar looked at the hooded figure for a moment before realizing who it was. "Skullette, what are you doing here?" He whispered warningly at her.

"Saving you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Skullette whispered back as they ran down the stairs.

"You don't understand this is a…" before he could finish his sentence a bunch of guards came out of the walls, spears, axes, and hammers in hand. They surrounded the two teens making them go back to back with each other. "…trap." Gunnar finished gritting his teeth.

The man with Black hair stepped out from behind one of the guards and grinned at the two making Gunnar stand in front of Skullette protectively. "Well, it seems that didn't take long. She is beautiful; no wonder you threatened to kill me after I told you what I planned to do with her."

Skullette looked over Gunnar's shoulder and glared at the man. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"

"Mind you, she does need some teaching but I'm sure I can beat some manners into her before handing her over to her father." The man in black said stepping closer to them grinning evilly. He ignored Skullette's question completely as if she hadn't spoken which didn't sit right with her.

Stepping around Gunnar she glared at the man. "I said, what do you want with us?" She nearly yelled at him.

Faster than anyone could blink he slapped her across the face and had a look on his face that would stop even the bravest of men in their tracks. "You will not speak unless spoken to!" He yelled at her.

As she backed up into Gunnar's arms from the force of the slap and more out of surprise than fear, Gunnar took the knife she kept in her belt spun around her and grabbed the black haired bastard by the arm. Swinging him around so his left arm was twisted behind his back and the knife was to his throat. He growled quietly into the man's ear with such venom it made the man grow still. "I told you before. You lay one hand on her and I will feed you to that dragon."

The guards pulled in tighter ready to attack if something were to happen to their leader. "Tell them to back off and clear the way. Or they will share the same fate as you are." Gunnar threatened.

"Back off." He called to his men. The guards looked around before slowly backing off and letting the teens through while Gunnar dragged their leader to the door of the dragon's cage.

Skullette moved ahead of them and opened the door to the dragon's cage, allowing Gunnar and the man with black hair in before closing it and locking it behind them. She followed Gunnar and the man toward the dragon. The men stopped half way but she kept walking toward it.

Talking softly she placed her hand out to the dragon. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. No one is ever going to hurt you again." As she stepped closer the Midnight Blue, Monstrous Nightmare sniffed her to make sure she was speaking the truth. She had no weapons on her, no helmet with horns, no whip either. He growled softly at her as he came closer to her. "That's it. Everything is going to be alright now. That bad man isn't going to harm you ever again."

As Skullette calmed the dragon, Gunnar spun the man around and held the knife to his throat point first. They stood face to face with Gunnar's back to the dragon, Stepping away from the man, he glared at him and spoke threateningly. "Tell her father that no matter where he goes, no matter how long it takes, we will never surrender to him. And any plans he may have for us will fail."

He was right next to Skullette now on the Nightmare's back and Gunnar was at its wing. After giving him a warning look he climbed up on to the dragon and sat behind Skullette. Looking back over at the man he grinned, "Thanks for the dragon."

Skullette let out a long loud whistle that made Gunnar cringe a little. A moment later Nightingale came screaming out of the dark and blasted the cage open with a single blast. The area was covered with smoke as the Nightmare took off into the night followed by Nightingale.

"So what are you going to call him?" Skullette asked as they flew over the ships in the harbor of the island and out to sea.

"Mostro de Notte. My father used to say that about the Monstrous Nightmares when they attacked. I figure it's a fitting name for him. But we can call him Notte for short." Gunnar replied while patting the side of the dragon's neck.

"Alright on to the next island, but let's not meet any more villagers. Every time we meet someone we find trouble." Skullette said with a sigh.

Gunnar grinned slightly at the back of her head. "Fine by me."

**Alright, that's it for this chapter… the next one will be up soon. And guess what… Hiccup and the Crew are all in the next one. Yay! I want to thank those who have been holding out till now. I know this should be about Hiccup and Toothless and everyone on Berk but this is such a nice way to expand the group. Please review and tell me what you think. Bonus points to who can tell me the English translation of the name of Gunnar's dragon, and which language it is.**


	8. Family?

**So we all know I don't own How to Train Your Dragon but I do own all new characters right? Good. Okay then in this chapter all our old friends from How to Train Your Dragon are back and let's just see how this plays out, shall we?**

**Chapter 8: Family?**

Notte landed on a fairly large island. It reminded Skullette and Gunnar of home. The pine trees, the birds singing, even the grotto that they landed in reminded them of where they met Nightingale. Speaking of the Night Fury she landed next to them as they climbed down off of Notte.

Skullette grabbed her bag off of Nightingale and got out the berry mixture that helped Gunnar a while back. She went back over to Notte and Gunnar. "Here, place a light layer of this on his cuts. And when I say light I mean no more than two fingers worth." She said holding up her first two fingers together. "It should help him heal faster."

Gunnar looked at her confused for a moment. "Why are you telling me this? Not that I'm complaining, but last time I touched your remedies we got into a fight. And besides you know more about dragons than I do, why aren't you putting it on him?"

She smiled at him before speaking. "True but Notte is your dragon. You're both hot headed, act before thinking, and you two even have the same eyes. If that's not a nice partnership I don't know what is. Right Nightingale?" Skullette asked her dragon who was currently fishing at the pond. A growl was the only answer they got.

Satisfied with this answer Gunnar went over to Notte and started rubbing the remedy on the dragon's cuts. It took a moment for the dragon to relax after the initial sting of the berries on to his scales but Gunnar was able to clean the scratches and rub the mixture in with no other problems. Afterward, Gunnar sat down next to the mighty dragon and leaned against his folded wing.

Skullette and Nightingale soon followed the idea of getting some rest after Nightingale had a few fish. The night air was crisp and clean and the area looked undisturbed from what they could tell in the dark. With their worries far behind them, they slept until the sun was high in the sky. Never guessing what this island may hold for them.

Gunnar was the first to awaken, the sun beaming down in his eyes through the surrounding trees. He looked around as memories from the night before came back to him. Placing a hand on Notte, he got up and went over to the pond. Washing the sleep from his face and taking a drink he looked at his reflection. He was slightly thinner and was starting to grow a slight stubble on his chin. It made him look more dashing than anything.

After a moment he was joined by Skullette who did mostly the same as him, washed her face, took a drink and admired herself in the reflection. She was slightly thinner too, her curves were more pronounced and she looked just as beautiful as she did the day they left Gurand. He quickly turned to see Notte and Nightingale staring at them as if asking what they were doing.

Suddenly a shadow flew over head blocking the sun for a moment before disappearing into the distance. Gunnar was the first to react by running over to Notte and hopping on his back. Skullette soon followed by hopping on Nightingale and they flew out of the grotto and into the trees.

They came to a large cluster of bushes and trees that hid the dragons well and Gunnar hopped down off of Notte and turned to Skullette. "I'm going to check out what that was. It looked like a Night Fury but it had a red tail fin." He turned and looked out into the distance where the dragon had gone. "Wait here. I'll be back soon."

Before Skullette could argue he was gone into the trees. He didn't have very far to go. As he made his way back toward the grotto, a black dragon lunged out at him from behind and pinned him to the ground right face up.

The Night Fury, just as he had thought. Its scales were as black as the night sky. Its teeth white, sharp and deadly just like Nightingales. This dragon's eyes were green with slit pupils, glaring down at him ready to kill him if he made any sudden moves. It growled menacingly down at him making sure to frighten him so he would not move.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" It was a male voice but Gunnar couldn't tell where it had come from and the dragon couldn't have said it. Suddenly from behind the mighty dragons head, came a young man no older than himself. He had russet-brown hair freckles and powerful green eyes that warned him to answer before the dragon had him for lunch.

Gunnar couldn't help the smile from appearing on his face when he saw the teen. He was able to stop the shout of joy so that the Night Fury didn't try to kill him. "Who are you? And what are you doing on this island?" The teen asked again.

Gunnar was able to answer him calmly after the dragon growled in his face warningly again. "Name's Gunnar friend, came here after being on the run for 5 days. You wouldn't happen to have any food on you would ya?" Gunnar asked with a smile.

The teen and dragon shared a look before turning back to the teen below them. "How do we know we can trust you?" The teen asked skeptically.

"Well, let me up and I'll show you. I promise I won't attack you or your Night Fury."Gunnar sincerely promised. The dragon let him up slowly but snarled at him as if daring him to go back on his word.

Gunnar led them only a short ways back toward Skullette and their dragons before making the teen and Night Fury stop behind him. "Skullette it's alright you guys can come out. We landed on the only Island we will be safe!" Gunnar's happy voice rang through the trees for a moment. The silence was over barring for a moment and Gunnar was starting to think they hadn't heard him. That is till Skullette poked her head through the pine tree.

"You're sure?" Skullette asked but Gunnar didn't need to answer. Her eyes fell on the black Night Fury Gunnar had said he saw and he was right. It did have a red tail fin. "Nightingale, I think we are on the safest place on earth." Skullette said in awe.

Nightingale poked her head through the tree and saw what her rider was talking about. Soon followed by Notte, whose long neck made it easy to see through the trees, without moving from his position.

The teen's jaw dropped in surprise at seeing another Night Fury. "Toothless, I think they are friends." The Night Fury under the teen purred quietly at the sight of the second Night Fury not even realizing his rider had spoken to him. "Name's Hiccup, and this island is Berk. My tribe and the dragons work as teams and partners now, after we killed their queen. Why don't you come to my house and I will explain everything and then you can tell me how you came to have your dragons."

Skullette, Gunnar and their dragons quickly followed Hiccup back to the village. Everyone was quite surprised to see the new comers. It's not often that a new comer comes to Berk let alone on the back of a dragon. Snotlout ran over to Hiccup soon followed by Fishlegs and the twin's, Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Who's this Hiccup?" Snotlout asked eyeing Skullette slightly. He was deciding on whether she would be worth going after. But Gunnar and Nightingale put a stop to that thought by glaring at him.

"This is Skullette." He said gesturing to her. "Gunnar, Nightingale, and Notte, if you want to know more about them we're headed up to my house to talk. You're welcome to join us."Hiccup explained as he leaned in the direction of his house. It had taken all winter but he had mastered walking on his prosthetic leg, even if it did bother him to walk or run long distances.

Nodding, they all headed up to the chief's house, but as they got there Hiccup heard movement inside. "Dad's not supposed to be back yet." He slowly opened the door to see Astrid cooking something over the stove/fire pit. "Astrid, I thought we were meeting later?" Hiccup said nervously.

Gunnar and Skullette could tell there was something between the two teens and just sat back to enjoy the show. "We were but I thought I would make us some lunch. Who's this?" Astrid asked turning to see the two new comers.

"Oh, this is Skullette and Gunnar they're on the run from their village turns out Skullette has a Night Fury and Gunnar a Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup explained.

"What village are you from?" Ruffnut asked walking in the house behind Skullette; followed quickly by her brother and the other two boys.

"We're from the Island Gurand, Skullette here was the chief's daughter but he disowned her after she refused to kill a nightmare. Nightingale and I had to come in and rescue her. I was already banished for suggesting that we give a portion of our food to the dragons once a month, also for trying to get Skullette out of that stupid arranged marriage." Gunnar explained.

"Come sit, we can talk more comfortably that way." Hiccup suggested sitting down and resting his leg.

"It's still bothering you isn't it Hiccup." Astrid said more than questioned.

"It's nothing; a little rest and I'll be fine." Hiccup tried to reassure her.

"Your leg is bothering you? Sore, irritated, and itching right? " Skullette asked him sitting down beside Astrid.

"Yeah how did you know that?" Hiccup asked confused, he had never told anyone how his leg really felt. He just told them it was sore and would be better in a bit.

Digging in her bag she pulled out a reddish green cream in a small jar. "Here, rub this on your stump and let it rest over night, no walking, riding or flying till the next morning. Stay off the leg and you will be fine." She instructed.

"How do you know all this?" Fishlegs asked sitting down opposite them. Beside him was Snotlout on one side and the twins on the other while Gunnar was sitting next to Skullette.

"I created it. My… mother taught me all about herbs and healing properties before she passed on five winters ago." she explained sadly, talking about her mother depressed her slightly. She was the only adult that ever believed that she could do something special in her life, and she was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Okay, back to the subject at hand. How did you meet your Night Fury?" Hiccup asked as he put the jar of cream next to his bed.

"Um… our old village created a poison that, when swallowed, slowly kills the thing that eats it. The chief, my stepfather, uses it on the dragons when they take the baskets of fish. Nightingale was in a grotto lying in the snow unmoving so I went down to check her out. I was going to kill her but, I couldn't. When I looked at her, lying there, hurt and scared, I looked into her eyes, and I saw myself." Silence filled the air as the group turned from Skullette to Hiccup.

"Maybe that's a Night Fury thing. The same happened when I captured Toothless, I couldn't kill him for the same reason." Hiccup explained, before asking. "So wait, you said the chief was your Stepfather?"

Gunnar answered this time. "Skullette was a peace offering from another Viking Village 16 years ago. We found out the truth when Bundar said he was going to kill Skullette himself after the Nightmare incident." Everyone was slack jawed at this comment.

"I did manage to find out one thing though. I have a twin brother and a father still alive but…" she was quiet for a moment. Gunnar placed a hand on her shoulder before she spoke again. "I was the second born and my birth mother died after I was born." She explained.

"So what are you going to do now?" Astrid asked not being able to take the tense atmosphere.

"We are looking for her brother and father at the moment. You wouldn't happen to know if your village was fighting with another village 16 years ago would you?" Gunnar asked in a more stern but questioning manner.

The dragon riders of Berk all turned to Fishlegs. He had been spending time reading up on the history of Berk in hopes to find more about different dragons. "I haven't gotten that far yet in the history books, but I bet one of the adults would know." Fishlegs said while fidgeting from the attention.

"We can ask Gobber, he should know about any wars from 16 years ago. He would have been by my dad's side. They were best friends growing up, that's mostly the reason I became the blacksmiths apprentice." Hiccup explained while rubbing his stump of a leg.

"We'll ask him tomorrow. You need to rest." Before Astrid could say anything more there was a knock at the door. Quickly getting up she went and answered the door. Low and behold Gobber was at the door.

"Heard there were some new comers on the island tha' came on dragons. Figured I'd come and see f'r myself." Gobber explained before being let in. Looking around his eyes first landed on Hiccup. "Tha' leg still botherin' ya?" He asked. After all he was the one to make the prosthetic leg for him. A nod was his only answer before he turned and saw Skullette. He froze on the spot. His mind went far into the past. Back to a time when he still had all his limbs. His best friend, Stoic, a young girl, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and himself ran around as children putting out fires in the village while the adults all fought off dragons. He was quickly brought back by Hiccup's voice.

"Gobber, you alright?" He asked the old blacksmith.

"I just remembered, your father will be home any day now. You need to tell him about them the moment you see him. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got lots of work to do back at the shop. Have a good day kids." He rambled on as he backed out of the house before closing it and making his way down the path back to the blacksmith stall.

"What was that all about?" Snotlout asked just as confused as everyone else.

"I don't know but his attitude changed when he saw Skullette." Hiccup said as everyone's eyes turned to the young girl.

"Wait a minute." Astrid interrupted. "If Gobber took one look at her and acted like he had seen a dragon talk, then wouldn't that mean he saw her before and she's not supposed to be here?" Astrid asked.

"Maybe but I think it's more like she reminded him of someone." Hiccup said slowly getting lost in thought.

"Well that proves it then." Gunnar chimed in at the silence of the room. "Skullette I think we may have found what we were looking for."

"Wait what?" the twins asked at the same time.

"Gobber's reaction to Skullette has been the only other clue we have had since we left Gurand. I think if he remembered something just by looking at Skullette maybe this is the island that she came from or Gobber knows where she really is from." Gunnar started explaining. "Either way it's the only clue we have so far."

"Not exactly." Skullette piped in before the other Vikings could comment.

"What do ya mean?" Hiccup asked.

"There's a song that my mother used to sing to me when I was little. She said she learned it from another island. I think the island that I'm from is the same island that my song is from." Skullette explained. "That would be the only other clue."

"Can we hear it?" Astrid asked.

"Maybe another time. I still want to know a few things first before we start a hunt for Skullette's brother and father." Hiccup intervened. A round of nods told him everyone else agreed.

"You'll really help us?" Skullette asked trying not to get her hopes up. With so many people searching they may just find her brother and father sooner than they think.

"So let's review, Skullette and Gunnar are from another Viking island called Gurand. Skullette's step father, Bundar, is the chief of the tribe and Skullette was a peace offering to him 16 years ago to end a war. After meeting their dragons Nightingale and Notte they started traveling after nearly getting killed and banished by the tribes so called chief. Now they are on a search for Skullette's twin brother and father. Who she doesn't know the names of or what they look like but she has this song and Gobber's reaction to go on. So now it's a possibility that she might be from this island of Berk. There's just one problem I see with all that." Hiccup explained.

"And what would that be?"Gunnar asked kind of getting sick of all the talking now.

"The only ones that are of 16 years… are in this room." Hiccup pointed out to the others.

"Well we can rule out the twins." Gunnar said. "And Astrid."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You actually think that one of us is Skullette's brother?" Snotlout asked in disbelief.

"Guy's." Skullette tried to put in but was cut off by Gunnar.

"What do you think? This is the first clue we have had in days. We didn't go through all the troubles we faced to be stopped now."

"Guy's." she tried again.

"Well, I'm telling you there's no way she could be one of ours."

"Guy's!" She tried once more.

"And how would you know that. You weren't there when she was offered." Gunnar ranted at him.

"Enough!" Skullette yelled making everyone look at her. "You two are acting like 5 year olds. Grow up and act like Vikings. Gunnar they don't know what dangers we faced the past few days. Back off, and Snotlout. Shut up! You weren't there and for all we know Gobber could have seen me at another island when he was trading or something. The truth is, no fighting is going to get us any closer to the truth."

"Skullette's right. If we want to help them we need to start looking for possibilities and stop with the negativity." Hiccup agreed. "That means you Snotlout."

"Wow, is it just me or are they acting alike?" Fishlegs thought out loud.

"I was raised a child of the Chief. What do you expect?" Hiccup and Skullette said at the same time before looking at each other in shock.

"Now that's just creepy." Snotlout said pointing out the obvious.

"Shut up Snotlout!" they said together again.

"Um, is it just me or are they acting like us?" Tuffnut asked before backing away from the two's voices.

"No we're not." They finally looked at each other and yelled. "Would you please stop that!"

"Okay well I don't know about you but I'm going now. My mother's probably wondering where I am. I'll see you later Hiccup." Astrid said before kissing his cheek and going out the door. Soon followed by a few agreements from the others.

As soon as the gang had left Hiccup and Skullette turned away from each other with a 'humph'.

"Well that ended quickly." Gunnar said to the empty room before sitting down and having some more soup. He wasn't going to let such good food go to waste, not to mention he hadn't eaten in almost three days.

Shortly after lunch Skullette went out to give Nightingale a good scratching. She had removed the soft make-shift fur saddle shortly after they had landed and left her with Toothless. She found her beloved dragon near the edge of the forest with said dragon. "Having fun Nightingale?"

The beast let out a soft growly purr to answer Skullette before turning back to the male Night Fury.

"Well, I can see I'm not wanted, I'll just leave you two love birds alone then." She said teasingly before going off to explore the forest. She wanted to see if this island had any of the special ingredients that she needed for her remedies.

After getting a few feet into the forest she gathered fallen bark and made a small basket that would suffice for the moment. She gathered berries that others would avoid as well as different leaves and roots that would be hard to find if the ground was soft. Finally as the sun began to set she started to head back to the village, she didn't want to get lost out in the forest when it gets dark. However she had already gotten lost as she went past the grotto they had landed in only that morning.

Finally deciding to head south of the island by keeping the sun to the west of her position she walked hoping to find the village. If she didn't she could always follow the edge and go around the long way.

It didn't take her long to get close to the edge of the island but what she didn't expect were the baby dragons that were nesting in front of her. "Amazing." She breathed out in awe. She went to a spare page in her medical book and started drawing the nests and dragons that surrounded them. She watched a mother nuzzle its baby as the sun was setting in the distant west.

"The babies stay with their mothers at night but we all enjoy the fact that they are here with us." Hiccup said as he sat down next to her. (A/N: the babies are half the size of their parents now)

Skullette finished her drawing as night finally started to set in. "Let's head back; that dragon of yours nearly took out some of the villagers looking for you. I promised her I would go find you if she stayed in my house for a while. Just so she didn't cause any major damage."

They got up and started walking back, half way there Skullette noticed Hiccup limping badly. "Do you need to rest? Your leg seems to really be bothering you."

"I'm fine, we're almost there anyways it would be pointless. Besides the sooner we get back the sooner everyone can relax knowing that your Night Fury won't be going crazy again."

They laughed about that for a moment knowing exactly how protective their Night Fury's could be. "I'm sorry about her, we've been through a lot and well she doesn't like leaving my side for very long." Skullette explained.

"Why were you out here anyways?" Hiccup asked curiously. It wasn't normal for people to come into the woods unless they were training and even then they never went very far.

"I was gathering ingredients for my remedies. They need certain kinds of roots and leaves to work correctly and fortunately your island isn't that different than Gurand's."

"Your mother taught them to you right?" Hiccup asked trying to understand her better.

"Yes, she taught me most of them but I have many that I have made myself. Like the one I gave you for your leg. I created it when our black smith lost his leg in a dragon raid."

"Funny, I lost mine fighting the king of all dragons with Toothless. It was bigger than this entire island." He explained with a grin.

It was quiet for a moment as Skullette thought something over, making Hiccup wonder if she was alright or if he had said something to bring up old memories that she didn't want to remember. "You okay?"

"I wish I had been stronger. Those dragons were only trying to survive, and my old village just poisoned them with my recipe. I can't let it continue Hiccup. I made an antidote but when my step-father forbade me from making any more remedies I had already met Nightingale and saved her. He is still out there looking for me, and he won't stop till he finds me." Skullette explained.

"How do you know he's after you?" Hiccup asked stopping where he was just outside of the village.

"The last island we were at tried to kidnap Gunnar and myself. He told us he was going to hand me over to my step-father when he was finished teaching me a lesson. And by teaching a lesson I mean force himself upon me." Skullette said with anger and hatred in her eyes as she looked back at Hiccup.

It made him nervous even if he knew it wasn't directed at him. "You don't need to worry Skullette my village and I will help you any way we can." he said before heading for the village again.

"Thank you Hiccup, you won't regret it."

They made their way up to Hiccup's house but he just couldn't get one thing off his mind. "Why is your Step-father after you anyways? He banished you right so what reason would he have for going after you?"

They stepped inside and Skullette let out a deep sigh. "I'll tell you tomorrow, it's all very… complicated." She explained before going towards the steps. "I think I'll head to bed early. I'll see you in the morning Hiccup. Good night Gunnar."

As she disappeared up the stairs and into the spare bedroom the two boys looked at each other in confusion. "Do I even want to know?" Gunnar asked.

"Asked why her step-father was after her and we walked into the room." Hiccup explained.

"Right well I'll go talk to her." Gunnar said walking over to the stairs with a bowl of stew in his hands and heading up to Skullette's temporary room.

Skullette was laying on her bed thinking about all that has happened in the last few days, when there was a knock on her door. "Skullette it's me, are you alright?" his voice was slightly concerned but still firm reminding her that a simple answer wasn't going to make him go away.

"I'm fine Gunnar, just tired it's been a long day." She called through the door.

"I have stew Skullette, please open the door?" he tried one last time to be nice.

"I'm not hungry thanks." There was ruffling of cloth as she turned in her bed.

That was the last straw for Gunnar, no more mister nice guy. "Skullette the Firetamer, you open this door right now before I break it down and make you fix it in the morning!" he yelled at her through the door.

Knowing he wasn't joking, she reluctantly got up and opened the door for him. "Happy now?" she asked irritated.

"Yes now eat your stew and don't you dare say you will and then don't we haven't eaten in three days." He glared at her daring her to challenge him.

"Alright fine, I'm too tired to argue with you come back in an hour and get the bowl if it isn't finished you can have Nightingale and Toothless jump on me to get me up in the morning." She offered as a way to making him leave her alone.

Satisfied with her answer he handed over the bowl and left to go back down stairs. Before he was five feet away she called him back softly making him turn on the steps to face her. "Gunnar, if he comes. you know what I might be forced to do right?" she said discreetly.

"I won't let it come to that Skullette you know that don't you. I won't even let you get close to making that plan a reality." He warned her.

"There are some things you can't stop Gunnar. No matter how hard you try." She tried to explain to him.

"Are you trying to throw your life away Skullette? What about your brother, or your real father out there, who regrets every day giving you up as a peace offering. Especially after they find out what he has done to you all these years. I'm not going to let you go through with it Skullette so forget that stupid plan of yours; just drop it!" Gunnar yelled at her. He was so sick of her mentioning killing herself to try and get away from Bundar, couldn't she see that she had so many people trying to protect her and cared about her? "Get some rest." His tone was soft now as he turned away from her to head down the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning."

She didn't say a word just closed the door quietly and went to the bed to eat, rest, and get some sleep.

Down stairs Hiccup looked on in shock as he unwillingly over heard the conversation. "Do _I_ even want to know?" he asked as Gunnar walked by.

"No." his voice was monotone and depressing.

"Okay then, well, I'm off to bed, night." He went up to his bedroom, took off his prosthetic leg, and rubbed the medicine onto his stomp of a leg before covering up and going to sleep.

Gunnar poked at the fire, as the two Night Fury's slept nearby. "At least some one's happy." He sighed and went deep into thought as the night rolled on.

**Alright not bad for another chapter, more will be told about the man from that last island and who do you think Skullette's father and brother are? And why did Gobber act the way he did after seeing Skullette? All these answers and more will be answered soon. Please review and thank you for reading so far and putting up with all the new characters!**


	9. The Calm

**Of course we all know I don't own 'How To Train Your Dragon' or its characters. I do own all the new ones. So I want to thank everyone that has been reading this so far and for putting up with my long beginning before getting to the people of Berk! So let's get this story started and see just what everyone is doing.**

**Chapter 9: The Calm**

"You told me she was here! And now you're telling me that she escaped?" Bundar yelled at the slender man with the black beard.

"She was here but she took off with my prized Dragon. I was unarmed and at knife point; what could I do?" he asked as if denying this was his fault.

"You have your men kill him! He is useless to me! I need the girl and her Dragon!" Bundar yelled at him raising his hammer in the air before bringing it down to the ground splitting the earth beneath their feet in two, with the slender man on one side of the crack and Bundar on the other. "Tell me the direction they went and load your men on to their ships! We are going hunting and this time, we don't come back till the girl is in my hands!"

He stormed off leaving the man alone in the dragon's cage. "Bossy old man, fine I'll do what you say but after he gets what he wants from the girl, she will be mine for the taking." He said as He faded into the dark to ready his men to sail.

Skullette was the first to wake in the chief's house and out of habit she headed down the stairs fully dressed and ready for the day. She gathered wood and put it in the fire pit before lighting it and bringing it to a good flame. After that she gathered a small kettle and put some water in it before placing it over the fire to heat, and proceeded to gather ingredients to make breakfast.

When the water started to boil, she place crushed and dried scented leaves into the water and took it out of the heat. She replaced it with a pan that had three fish all cleaned, seasoned, and ready. She followed by placing the bread on the rocks and letting the fire warm it.

While the fish cooked she woke the two sleeping Night Fury's. "Nightingale, Toothless, you want some breakfast?" she whispered as they rose their heads at the call of their names.

Toothless was the first on his feet but as ready as he was for breakfast he waited for Nightingale to follow Skullette first. They each got twenty fish a piece before Skullette headed back inside, including Notte.

She flipped the fish and took the bread off the rocks to cut a few pieces for each of them. She then warmed last night's stew to finish off the meal. By the time breakfast was ready Gunnar was coming down the stairs and Hiccup following close behind.

"Morning, something smells great." Hiccup said as he sat down around the fire, soon joined by a half asleep Gunnar, who grunted in agreement.

"Go ahead and grab a bowl while I hand out the fish." Skullette said as she placed one of the cooked fish on a wooden plate and handed it to Hiccup who gratefully took it.

"Thanks Skullette, this looks great." Hiccup was about to dig in when he suddenly remembered Toothless. "Oh, hold on a second I have to feed Toothless." He was about to get up when Skullette stopped him.

"I already fed the dragons. Even Notte while I was out there." She said smiling at this morning's feeding. Toothless had pushed an extra two fish from his basket to Nightingale's. "I think Toothless has a crush on Nightingale." She said handing Gunnar his fish.

Hiccup sat back down in wonder. "What makes you say that?"

Skullette grinned at him. "I saw him give Nightingale two of his fish when he thought no one was looking."

Hiccups mouth dropped. "You're kidding; Toothless gave up some of his breakfast?" He said in awe. "I've seen that dragon fight off a Monstrous Nightmare because it got too close to his dinner one time. And he just _gave_ her part of his breakfast?"

She nodded proudly at him as she poured each of them a cup of the water she had boiled. "Yup, maybe it's because she's the only other Night Fury."

"Or he has other plans in mind with her." Gunnar said with a chuckle. He was reaching for the drink that Skullette was handing him when she pulled it away and drank it herself. "Hey!"

"You just made it sound like Toothless was using her." Skullette said scowling at him.

"I'm sorry that it came out wrong." He said trying to sound sincere.

Giving him a warning glare she poured another cup and handed it to him. Hiccup decided to take the moment of silence as a chance to speak. "What is this Skullette it tastes great."

Smiling at the compliment she said, "Its boiled water and some crushed and dried leaves, I haven't thought of a name for it yet."

"Well when you figure out a name, give me the recipe to give Astrid. She would love this." Hiccup said finishing his breakfast.

"Speaking of Astrid, what is it between your two; she your girlfriend?" Gunnar asked with a sly grin on his face.

Hiccup choked on the rest of his drink before roughly swallowing it and coughing on the rest. "Uh… well you see… it's um… uh… oh look at the sun, I really need to head out to the Forge those swords and axes won't sharpen themselves!" Hiccup said as he strapped on his leg and ran out the door closing it firmly behind him.

"I'll take that as 'it's complicated', don't you think?" Skullette said giggling.

"For now, I'll get the truth out of him later. Right now I'm going to explore the village."Gunnar said standing up and stretching. "Thanks for breakfast it was delicious." He grabbed his cross bow and headed out the door.

Skullette cleaned up breakfast and got to work on some of her recipe supplies, she was running low and you never knew when someone was going to need something.

Hiccup hurried down to the blacksmith stall, if only to get away from Gunnar and his embarrassing questions that he barely knew the answers to. Low and behold the reason for the questions was waiting for him at the stall.

"Morning Hiccup." Astrid said swinging her axe in her hands.

"Morning Astrid. What brings you here this early?" he asked smiling.

She threw her axe lightly making it land flat on one of the tables. "I was hoping for an axe sharpening. I wanted to try throwing it from Stormfly's back but the blade is a bit dull."

"Well that shouldn't take too long." Hiccup said grinning before lifting the axe and bringing it to the sharpening stone.

"So did you learn anything new about our visitors?" she asked while looking at some of his new idea plans that were in his back room.

Hiccup was quiet as he remembered last night's conversation. It had him worried and if they were going to stay on Berk they had to be more trusting. "There's a reason her step-father is after her, not to mention some guy from the last island they were on that tried to… let's just say she wouldn't be considered a maiden any more if he succeeded. And apparently from the conversation that Gunnar and Skullette had when I brought her back to my house, she has some drastic plan going around in her head that he doesn't agree with."

It was quiet as they let this information sink in. "That must be ruff. To be forced from the only home you've ever known and then being followed for some reason and all the while running into obstacles along the way." She paused for a moment. "What can we do to help them?"

Hiccup lifted the now fully sharpened battle axe off of the sharpening stone as an idea formed in his head. "Why not talk to Skullette? She made this drink this morning that I know you would love to try." Astrid gave him a weird look like he just told her dragons can talk. "I mean try to get to know her, if she feels like she can trust us fully with the truth maybe we can help her escape her father and the man from the other village."

"I guess, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

"Right and while you're talking to Skullette, I can talk to Gunnar and see if I can't get him to come out of that shell he seems to be stuck in."

"If you say so; I'll talk to you later, you're amazing Hiccup." she called as she ran off to his hut to talk with Skullette.

Hiccup let out a sigh as he got to work on repairing and making swords and axes for future use. He figured if Gunnar was as open minded as he sounded, he would find his way to the Forge.

Gunnar was down by the docks helping the sailors store the fish away before the dragons got wind of it. The last few baskets were full of eel which all Dragons hated so it helped to keep the stored fish safe.

"Thanks fer all yer help laddie. I bet ya were a big help back in yer old village." One man said smiling before walking off to do some more chores.

With a small smile on his face, he walked off to find something else to do. It didn't take him long to find the Forge, or Hiccup, who was working on some piece of metal. Curious he took a stool, sat down and watched him work.

He watches as Hiccup shaped the metal to a sword like point but unlike the other swords he saw laying around the stall this one was smaller and lighter. While still being long enough to be a sword and wide enough for Viking liking, it was still smaller than normal. "What are you doing?" He asked as Hiccup put it in to the fire again.

"AHHH!" Hiccup screamed as he spun around with a pair of tongs in his hands, ready to attack any threat that came his way. Realizing who spoke he lowered the tool and sighed. "Oh Gunnar, it's only you. I'm making a sword for myself. I'm not as strong as the other Vikings, as we all painfully know, so I'm making a sword to train with. I also feel bad that I have to rely on Toothless for my fighting, it isn't fair to him either." Hiccup explained before pulling the hot metal out of the fire and over to the anvil to be shaped better.

Gunnar sat and thought about this for a while as Hiccup worked on his sword. "Hey Hiccup, you ever use a bow and arrow?"

He stopped the hammer mid swing making the weight of it make his arm go towards the ground. "No, why?" he was generally curious, how did making a sword turn into bow and arrow use?

"Skullette isn't much of a fighter either but she can fire an arrow better than I can." Gunnar explained making Hiccup give him a 'what does that have to do with anything?' look. "You see back on Gurand, I was well known for my fighting skills. I could take a nail and find twenty different ways to kill someone with it. I was also very quick on my feet so they gave me the name Gunnar the Steadyfoot."

Hiccups face turned from confused to understanding to deep in thought at this, "So what does Skullette have to do with firing an arrow better than you?"

"She can't fight hand to hand like other warriors. Put simply, she fights like you. So that's why I was wondering if you ever fired an arrow."

"Oh, well no I never shot an arrow. I was only ever allowed to wield the weapon I was building or mending until dragon training last year. It was actually ironic how that happened. One morning I had shot Toothless right out of the sky during a raid, but a Nightmare saw me do it and started chasing me. He set fire to one of the torch posts while I hid behind it. Well dad beat the dragon, which was now out of fire, and it flew away. At the same time that it left the Torch post broke and went down the hill setting some Nadders my dad had just caught free and allowing them to take our sheep. He sent me back to the house so he could 'clean up my mess'. Well being Vikings, I didn't drop the fact that I shot a Night Fury down, which no one believed me when I told them that. I went out to look for him. I finally found him after looking over half the island, I had every intention of killing him but when I looked into his eyes, I saw myself. Misunderstood, alone, one of a kind; so, I cut the ropes and freed him. Mind you he didn't just run off, he scared me first by pinning me to the ground and staring me in the eyes before pulling back and roaring in my ear. Then he took off into the woods. When I got back I had decided that dragon fighting wasn't for me and that everyone else was right, but apparently dad had a talk with Gobber and agreed that I was going into Dragon Training. For the first time he handed me an axe, wanting me to wield it proudly and carry the tribe on my shoulders, I'll never forget his parting words before going off to find the nest 'Train hard, I'll be back, Probably.'."

Gunnar was in shock. That sounded so close to Skullette's past it wasn't even funny. "Wow, so later you found Toothless again and then what happened?" he asked wondering if there were any other similarities between Hiccup and Skullette.

"Well I gave him a fish, threw my knife in the lake, drew a picture which made him want to draw one too, and when I went through his maze of squiggles I came face to face with him. I held out my hand and he touched it with his nose while I had my head down. After that, I used what I knew from being with Toothless to defend myself in Dragon Training. Like the Dragon nip, the scratching under the chin, and the…"

Gunnar interrupted him. "The Eels right? We found that out as well." A small smile came to his face. Hiccup and Skullette were very similar and he hoped that maybe they were twins. It would explain a few things but it would take time to find that out. Gobber didn't sound like he would just come out and say yes or no to the war 16 years ago, but if given enough time it had to come out sooner or later.

"Why did you want to know?" Hiccup asked placing the sword on the fire again.

"Skullette was kind of similar. Her father never let her into battle or even out of the house when there was a raid. She couldn't touch a weapon and most of all, can only touch the hearth in her own home."

"Why would she be banned to only use her hearth? I thought all had to contribute to the central hearth." Why by Thor would she be treated like an illness in her own village, even being the chief's daughter?

"I think that's a story Skullette had better tell." Gunnar wanted to get off the subject now. "So how do you know what size to make your sword if you never wielded one before?"

"Oh well, if you take in my size and shape compared to other Vikings it's easy to see a normal sword would be too much for my small body to handle. So to make up for my size the sword has to be smaller but because I have worked as the blacksmiths apprentice I can make it almost normal width for muscle." Hiccup explained.

"Mind teaching me?" Gunnar asked.

"Hold it ri'te there. What makes ya think you can just come in e're and ask to be my apprentice?" Gobber asked walking into the shop.

"Gobber, he was just…" Hiccup tried to divert his attention and come up with an excuse with his fast working mind but was cut off by Gunnar.

"I wish to become your apprentice Gobber. I know all weapons and how to wield them." Gunnar tried.

"An' wha' makes ya think I will jus' take ye for an apprentice when I already have one?" Gobber said stubbornly.

"Well Hiccup is the only apprentice you have and he will be training to be chief soon leaving you with no apprentice and no one to take over once you get old and Hiccup is Chief." He countered.

"Well… uh… right, you can start with the hammer and work from there."Gobber said not having a comeback for that small little fact that they all seemed to over look. Gunnar grinned at Hiccup before following Gobber and getting started.

Astrid made it to the chief's house without any trouble from her friends. Thankfully, Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, and Snotlout seemed to be busy with their dragons today so it gave her time to gather some things and head to her destination.

Skullette was making the finishing touches on the fur that was once Nightingale's saddle. She had made it into four blankets and was now finishing the hemming on the largest one for the chief. A knock stopped her from admiring her finished work and examining it to make sure nothing was missed.

She walked over and opened the door to see Astrid smiling at her. "Hi, I thought we could talk and get to know one another." Astrid said in her most cheerful voice.

"Uh… sure, come on in." Skullette said moving aside.

"What are you working on?" she asked sitting down and noticing the large furs.

"I was making blankets from the fur I used for Nightingale's saddle. I already cleaned and hemmed them, so they are all finished." Skullette explained.

"I don't get it, why would you destroy your saddle to make blankets? Don't you need it to go flying with?" Astrid asked confused.

"Yes, but Nightingale can fly on her own, she's not like Toothless who needs Hiccup to fly."

"Toothless had the chance to fly on his own last Snoggletog, but he broke his new fin so Hiccup would go flying with him again. He chooses Hiccup over free flying."

"Wow, I didn't know that. Toothless must really think highly of Hiccup to be so trusting." Skullette mussed.

"I don't think so, more like he realized that having someone to enjoy flying with him and having just as much fun was better than flying free and alone." Astrid explained. Seeing the look of understanding come to Skullette's face, she decided to change the subject. "So since that is finished want to help me make the guy's lunch? I was thinking of a new stew that sounds good. It has Yak milk, meat, a few vegetables and best of all, radishes. They grow on an island not too far from here but the soil there is softer than ours."

Skullette heard the ingredients and got a little sick to her stomach. "How about we change it up a bit, you know, make it better than what it is." Skullette offered.

"How do we do that?" Astrid asked.

"Well for one, let's get rid of the Yak milk." She said putting it outside the door for any daring soul to try. "Next let's try starting with boiling water and adding some sheep milk." Skullette said while setting it all up.

"Your mother taught you how to do all this?" Astrid asked while mentally taking notes on everything that Skullette is doing with the food.

"Yes, she taught me that even though we grow food that's tough and tasteless we can always add something to it to make it better and more bearable." Skullette said while cleaning the meat and adding some of the left over herbs to it.

"Wow, my mother only taught me fighting skills, never even mentioned home wife skills for when I married." Astrid said sadly.

Skullette smiled at her before placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'll tell you what, I'll teach you all I know about being a good housewife if you teach me how to fight hand to hand. I can fire an arrow better than anyone but I can't fight hand to hand." Skullette explained when a confused look came to Astrid's face.

"You've got yourself a deal." Astrid agreed with a grin.

The girl's got to work on the stew and Astrid's first home keeping lesson.

Later on in the afternoon Astrid and Skullette were making their way to the forge to give the guys some lunch. Working all day worked up an appetite. They only knew that Gunnar was there working cause Fishlegs stopped by after smelling the stew as he walked by.

"I'm not so sure about this Astrid." Skullette said as they got closer to the forge.

"It will be fine; I stop by all the time to talk to Hiccup. The guy's will need a break anyways." She explained.

"That's not what I… never mind." Skullette said dropping the subject. She stopped a few feet from the forge close enough to be seen and out of people's way but far enough so she didn't cause any… accidents.

Astrid noticing her stop went back and dragged the girl behind her while both balanced a tray of food in one hand. "Astrid… I… I…" she didn't get to finish her sentence as she was stopped right in front of Gunnar. Both teens looked nervous as Skullette handed the try to Gunnar and squeaked out. "Lunch." Before backing up slowly and carefully; she was almost clear of the forge entrance when her foot caught something and she feel to the ground. Her hand hit a bucket of water and as the bucket flipped in the air Skullette landed on the hard floor it landed on her head drenching her in water, wood and ash that came from the metal that was cooled in the bucket.

No one spoke a word in the forge but that didn't stop Snotlout and the twins from laughing at her and any other wandering Viking that happened to see the event.

"I have never seen anyone mess up so badly since Hiccup let all our sheep get away." Snotlout commented.

Hearing the comment she got up and ran for the woods. The bucket falling from her head and hitting the ground next to the small group of teens outside the forge. Gunnar, Hiccup, and Astrid called after her but she didn't stop.

Gunnar glared at Snotlout before punching him in the gut and chasing after Skullette. Astrid punched him in the face and soon followed after the two with Hiccup right beside her. He would deal with the other teens later but right now Skullette was more important. He had a feeling something was wrong and he needed to know what it was.

"Where could she have gone?" Gunnar asked looking through the woods with Hiccup and Astrid.

"She can't go flying; she doesn't have a saddle for Nightingale." Astrid semi-answered. "Could she have gone to the place you first met Hiccup?"

"Let's go check." Hiccup said already going in the direction of the grotto.

As they reached the top of the grotto they could see a small ball curled up between two big black masses. Apparently the Night Fury's had seen her run into the woods and followed her.

Gunnar didn't wait for the others as he headed down to Skullette. Hiccup and Astrid quickly followed a moment later but kept a slight distance to give the two new comers some space to talk.

Nightingale had her head next to Skullette's feet so she could look up at her for any change while Toothless sat on all fours watching for any dangers that may come to harm them.

Gunnar walked over to her slowly not wanting to scare her or the Night Fury's. "Skully?" he called to her quietly so as not to make her jump. Unfortunately she did jump but quickly calmed down so the dragons didn't attack him. She eyed him for a moment before looking at the ground in front of her. She didn't say a word to him but he knew she was listening. "Skully nothing bad happened. Everyone's fine and anyone could have d…" he didn't get to finish his sentence.

"But no one else made that mistake! I Did! Snotlout is right, I cause nothing but trouble where ever I…" she was cut off by a fierce voice that cut the air like an axe.

"Don't you dare say Snotlout is right about demonetizing anyone. You don't cause these things to happen; they just do! Never say you are less than what you are just because something bad happens!" Hiccup said making everyone look at him in awe. "I know what it's like to be the town screw up! But look what you have done Skullette, you befriended a Night Fury, showed your tribe what a better life could be, you defied your step father and are now looking for your real family! No one that causes such problems can do all of that and still be alive to tell about it. Now get up and show them what you're really made of!"

"Hiccup's right! Skullette you made a medicine that can cure a poison that could kill a Dragon! You make food that tastes better than I have ever known; you even flew on a dragon with a fur and rope as a saddle. You can do anything you put your mind to." Astrid added.

"See Skullette, someone who always causes problems, wouldn't be able to make such great friends without causing some kind of problem, but you have made friends with so many people, so what do you say to heading back and showing Snotlout what you're really made of?" Gunnar encouraged.

Skullette scratches Nightingales head for a moment before smiling and getting up. "You're right I'm sorry, I need to stop letting my past control me. And I think I know just how to get back at Snotlout." A grin coming to her face making the others look at each other with slight worry and confusion.

"Let me go!" Snotlout shouted as he dangled by his arms from Nightingales claws. They made it past the village and out to the sea where Snotlout quickly changed his mind. "No, don't let me go, don't let me go!" he yelled.

Skullette leaned over the side of Nightingale, from Hiccup's saddle without the tailfin, and looked down at Snotlout. "I'm sorry I can't hear you very well, did you say let you go?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"NO, Don't Let Me Go!" Snotlout insisted.

"Let you go?" she pondered for a moment. "Is that what he's saying Nightingale?" she asked her dragon.

The Night Fury nodded its large head in agreement. "Okay, let him go then." She said grinning at her dragon.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Snotlout screamed as his arms were released and he started falling towards the water far below him.

Skullette sat there for a moment while Nightingale hovered. "Do you think we should save him now?" she asked the mighty beast.

With a grunt Nightingale started to dive down to Snotlout and quickly caught him before he hit the water. "Why did you do that?" Snotlout yelled angrily.

"Oh, you wanted to fall into the water. Sorry thought that yelling was for help." She said before Nightingale let him go again.

"NOOOO!" He screamed before he started falling again.

Nightingale caught him a few feet down from her previous spot.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry; just bring me to land." He yelled up to Skullette. She grinned at the apology and led Nightingale back to Berk.

Once on solid ground he got a few feet away from the dragon and new girl. "Are you crazy? You could have killed me!" Snotlout yelled at her as people started to gather around, including Astrid, Hiccup and Gunnar.

"For one you need to learn how to treat new comers to your island. Laughing at them isn't polite and if I was a representative from another island, you could have caused a war to start." She explained to him.

Snotlout was speechless for a moment before coming up with a comeback. "You're the one claiming you could be from this island after being a gift of peace 16 years ago."

"Oh so now it's my fault!"

"You're the one that fell over a bucket. Why didn't you just turn around and walk out like everyone else?"

"That's none of your business! You shouldn't make a comment to demonetize someone after an accident!"

"De-what?" Snotlout asked confused.

"Right, let me put it simply so your feeble little mind can understand. You shouldn't belittle people because they do something on accident. Cause you never know when it will come to bite you in the butt." She explained before walking off up to the chiefs house.

"Hey get back here! I'm not done with you!" Snotlout called after her.

"I'm done with you. There's no point in trying to explain something so simple to someone that can't understand a simple situation."

"Coward! You're nothing but a big fat coward and that's all you will ever be. Hiding behind that dragon of yours." Skullette stopped at his words.

"What did you say?" she asked with a deathly voice.

"You are nothing but a spineless, rat eating mung bucket!" Snotlout insulted.

Skullette didn't move but Gunnar knew what was coming last time someone had insulted her badly enough, it started the incident.

"Skully don't! Remember what happened last time!" Gunnar yelled at her. Making her stop mid arm rise and lower it again. She continued walking up to the chief's house while Gunnar turned to face Snotlout. "I suggest you don't talk to her for a while, you get her angry and something bad will happen. You don't know what her life was like back on Gurand so don't think you know everything about her!" He was about to walk off to follow her but a voice stopped him.

"Did you say Gurand?" one of the other Vikings asked.

"Yes, we came from Gurand and her step-father is after her. He tried to kill her back when she refused to kill a dragon."

Murmuring filled the village before Gobber silenced them. "Now, now let's jus' wait till Stoic gets back before jumpin' to conclusions."

"You mean she really could be part of this village?" Snotlout asked disbelievingly.

"Never ya mind, go do yer chores and leave the girl alone." Gobber said before going back to the forge leaving the teens in a semi-circle.

"That's it; I'm getting to the bottom of this now." Hiccup said before going up to his house with the others on his tail.

Skullette was stirring something in a pot over the fire when the others walked into the house. "What's going on?" She asked Gunnar ignoring the side look Snotlout was giving her.

"The adults are hiding something and Hiccup seems to know how to find out the answers."

The group gathered around the fire while Hiccup went up to look for something. As they waited, Snotlout sat as far away from Skullette as he could. When Hiccup didn't come back after a while Astrid went up to find him. "Maybe he's lost in the pile of books he has up there." She suggested.

Finally Snotlout spoke up, "Listen Skullette; I'm sorry I called you those names and I'm sorry your father is trying to kill you." Skullette gave him a half smile.

"It's okay. I forgive you." At that moment Hiccup and Astrid came back down the stairs.

"Found it! It took me five piles of books to find it but I got it." Hiccup said excitedly.

"Got what exactly?" Tuffnut asked irritated that no one was explaining anything.

"This book holds all the past battles on Berk or at sea with our tribe. It was put away during the dragon war and I nearly forgot about it." Hiccup and Astrid sat down next to Skullette. Opening the book Hiccup skipped to the back of the book where the last recorded entry was. "Beard of Thor." Hiccup said disbelievingly before looking up at Skullette.

**Evil Cliffy! Okay that's it… long enough so far. Tell me what you think and I know you are all wondering what's going to happen next… the next chapter will be up next week. R&R please. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!**


	10. Truth about Skullette

**I don't own HTTYD so stop asking. Enjoy and tell me what you all think. I also don't own any song that may be in this chapter.**

**Chapter 10: Truth about Skullette's Past**

Everyone looked at Hiccup waiting for him to explain what he had found. "Skullette I think you should read this." He said handing her the book.

She took it and looked over what he pointed to. After a moment her jaw dropped, before long a smile came to her face. "I don't believe it! Berk was at war 16 years ago! I really am from this island!" she nearly yelled jumping up and holding the book close to her.

"It would seem that way; and with all the secrets around here since you showed up, I think it's a secret that you're from Berk. The only question is what family are you from?" Hiccup asked going into thought.

Everyone was quiet as he thought. "You can't be from the twin's or Astrid's family, so that leaves Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Hiccups." Gunnar offered.

"Wait didn't you say you may have another clue as to what island you may be from?" Ruffnut asked hoping that bit of information could help.

"Hey, yeah! Skullette what was the other clue?" Astrid asked excitedly.

"I don't know if it's important now that we know I am from Berk." Skullette said

"Yes, but if it comes from a certain family we might be able to help you."Hiccup explained.

"Well alright." Skullette cleared her throat and relaxed slightly.

'_Little Child,  
Be not afraid,  
The rain pounds harsh against the glass,  
Like an unwanted stranger,  
There is no danger,  
I am here tonight,_

_Little Child,  
Be not afraid,  
Though thunder explodes and lightning flash,  
Illuminates your tear stained face,  
I am here tonight,_

_And someday you'll know,  
That nature is so,  
This same rain that draws you near me,  
Falls on rivers and land,  
And forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see,  
In the morning,_

_Little child,  
Be not afraid,  
The storm clouds mask your beloved moon,  
And it's candle like beams,  
Still keep pleasant dreams,  
I am here tonight,_

_Little child,  
Be not afraid,  
The wind makes creatures of our trees,  
And the branches to hands,  
There not real understand,  
I am here tonight,_

_And someday you'll know,  
That nature is so,  
This same rain that draws you near me,  
Falls on rivers and lands,  
And forest and sands,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see,  
In the morning,_

_For you know,  
Once even I,  
Was a little child,  
And I was afraid,  
But a gentle someone always came,  
To dry all my tears,  
Trade sweat sleep for fears,  
And give a kill good night,_

_Well, now I am grown,  
And these days have shown,  
The rain's apart of how life goes,  
But it's dark and its late,  
So I'll hold you and wait,  
Till your frightened eyes do close,_

Astrid joined in while Ruffnut hummed the song with them.

_And I hope that you know,  
That nature is so,  
This same rain that draw's you near me,  
Falls on river's and lands,  
And forest and sands,  
Makes the beautiful world that you see,  
In the morning,_

_Everything's fine in the morning,  
The rain will be gone in the morning,  
But you'll still be here in the morning,'_

The group was quiet for a moment, till Hiccup broke it. "Where did you learn that song?" he asked.

Skullette face fell before explaining. "My mother sang that song to me when I was little before she died; she told me that she learned it from a friend of hers from another island. I guess she gave me a clue to the real village I came from. She knew that I didn't fit in on Gurand."

"Why do you say that?" Ruffnut asked.

"It's a long story." She didn't get much of a choice. Everyone got set and waited for her story. Gunnar was the only one not happy about reliving the past but she put it off as he was there and knows everything. "Alright, it all started when I was little."

"Oh Odin, here it comes." Gunnar said in complete boredom and throwing his head back. Earning a 'shh' from the others.

"Eight summers ago my mother realized that I had a talent for spotting different kinds of leaves and naming them before being close enough to touch them with a hammer. When she told her husband, my step-father Bundar the Wise, he tried to train me to use that talent in battle but all I ever ended up doing was landing on the ground or running away from him as he swung a hammer at me, screaming for me to defeat him with something in the distance. To scared to do anything to him, he brought me back home and told my mother that I had no real warrior in me. My mother protested and said I would grow boulder and he could teach me all he knew after that.

That winter for my birthday he took me out to hunt and showed me how to fire a bow and arrow. It's probably the only thing that made him proud of me. Not much else happened till about five winters ago.

It was a cold stormy night and we had just finished dinner. Bundar said that the Dragons were becoming a major problem and that we needed a way to kill them off at the heart. My mother came up with the idea of making a poison. So for the next month my mother and I figured out a way to kill off the dragons. Mind you we never thought about what would happen if one of the villagers ate the poison or that they would for that matter.

Weeks after we completed the poison and started adding it to some of the barrels of fish that the dragons would take from us about half of the villagers started getting sick, including my mother. So it was up to me to figure out how to cure them. A few days before I completed the antidote my mother asked me to come to her room. She asked me if I remember the song she used to sing to me every night before I went to bed. I told her I did and she smiled lightly telling me to always remember it because it will be important later on in life. But before I could ask her what she meant Bundar came in and pushed me out the door so he could be alone with her. I heard some whispered arguing before everything went quiet.

The next morning she was gone and I have always kept that song close to my heart. Bundar kept trying to get me to fight but I didn't have the heart for it. Then finally after two years of him chasing me every morning and evening with some kind of weapon he gave up and let me be but he was never proud of anything I did. I even tried fighting to make him proud, but nothing helped.

Finally last summer something happened that would change everything. You see, no one really paid much attention to me. Mostly called me the weakling, or Viking failure. But what happened next, made everyone hate me completely."

Fishlegs interrupted her, "What could you have done to make everyone hate you? I mean if you were such a failure, what could you have done to make it worse?"

Gunnar and Skullette both looked away from the others. Gunnar's eyes went to the fire while Skullette's went to the floor. Taking a deep breath she continued, "I burned down the whole village. There's a reason they called me Skullette the Firetamer after that. I could get around any fire without getting burned. I had helped rescue villagers that were trapped in their homes by weaving around the flames and they never touched me. Afterwards I was told everyone was okay and that no one was hurt, but I was never allowed to touch anyone's fire pit but my own. It was Gretchen's fault anyways; if she hadn't insulted my mother I wouldn't have slammed her into the forge that started the fire in the first place."

"So that's why you didn't want to go into the forge." Astrid understood now.

"And why you were backing out of it, instead of turning around." Snotlout said feeling even worse for laughing now in the first place.

"That's not the whole story." Gunnar put in finally. Everyone turned to him waiting for the rest while Skullette sat there confused. "Someone did die in that fire. My father did, I don't know why the elders or her father didn't tell her but not everyone survived and I hated her up till we met up with Nightingale. Or rather I met her, that's when I got to know them and didn't really care why the fire started just knew that it did and my father wasn't there anymore."

Everyone was silent and Skullette looked pale from this new information. Now that everyone knew the truth maybe they could all get somewhere.

Skullette didn't speak much for the rest of the visit. She would answer simply and then go quiet. By the end of the evening it was dark and everyone had enough information to put Skullette in either Hiccups family or Snotlout's.

The others left for home and Hiccup and Gunnar went up to change for bed. Skullette was still sitting at the fire watching the embers burn themselves out as the dragons slept next to her. Finally after what felt like hours but was only a few minutes in reality she spotted the four pelt blankets. Getting up she took the largest one to the bedroom in the back, leaving it folded on the bed.

She took the others upstairs. Leaving one in her room she headed for Hiccup's room. Knocking she called quietly, "Hiccup, it's me I brought you something." She called quietly to him.

A rustle of cloth could be heard before the door opened reviling a half awake Hiccup. "Skullette, what is it?" He asked stifling a yawn.

"Sorry to wake you, I just thought you might want a blanket." She said showing him the fur blankets that she had finished that morning.

"Oh wow," he said slightly more awake now. "Thanks Skullette."

"You're welcome. See you in the morning." Skullette said turning and making her way to Gunnar's room, Hiccup's door closed behind her.

Once at Gunnar's door she raised her fist to knock but stopped mid swing, before lowering it. Biting her lower lip she raised her fist again and quickly but lightly knocked on the door. "Come in." came Gunnar's voice. She opened the door to see his bare back. He still wore his pants and boots but he was in the middle of changing his shirt. She quickly looked away finding the door frame very interesting as a blush came to her cheeks. "Sorry. I just came to give you a blanket. Winter's getting closer and I thought you could use an extra covering." She said glancing back at him to see his shirt was now on.

"Thanks." was his only reply.

She placed the blanket on his bed and headed to the door. Before she exited she turned back to him for a moment. Opening her mouth only to shut it a moment later, thinking about what to say she tried again but stopped a second before saying anything. Finally she just gave up on trying to make it simple; it was never going to be simple because what she did was unforgivable. "I'm really sorry about your dad Gunnar. You know I would never wanted to cause people harm."

"Thanks but it's no big deal. All in the past, 'kay? I'll see ya tomorrow." He said climbing into bed.

"Okay. Good night Gunnar." She closed the door and headed to her room for the night. Knowing she wasn't going to sleep well that night.

The next morning Hiccup and Gunnar got up early to do some practice fighting drills before having to go to the forge. "Now what you want to do is keep your eyes on the target. Let's start with a tree. Now imagine the tree is someone you really don't like. Someone that wronged you or cheated you." Gunnar instructed.

"But I don't know anyone like that." Hiccup said finding it hard to just imagine someone in his village so mean.

"Fine, imagine someone big that has just captured Toothless and has threatened to kill him in front of you." Gunnar said going for the underhanded approach.

"I don't see how this is going to help with my fighting skills." Hiccup said his sword dropping from his shoulder to the ground.

Sighing Gunnar knew he had a long road ahead of him. "Listen Hiccup; if you want to fight like a Viking, then you're gonna have to be motivated." Gunnar tried to explain.

"So I should imagine Toothless in danger and that would motivate me to fight." Gunnar nodded. "Oh well, that makes things so much easier." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"No back talk; now, get into the striking position I showed you." Gunnar instructed.

This continued for a few hours before they had to head to the forge for the day. Hiccup improved his fighting only slightly but it was enough to make him feel like he was getting somewhere and not failing like he did the first decade of his life.

Skullette woke up later than she intended and was surprised to find the boys gone. As she came down the stairs there was a knock at the door so being the only one in the house aside from Nightingale, she answered the door.

"Morning." Astrid said happily as she walked in.

Skullette shut the door behind her. "Morning."

"I'm ready for my first lesson." Astrid said sitting next to the fire.

Skullette smiled at this. Yesterday she was afraid they would start to treat her different after they found out she had caused so much trouble and sadness in her old village. But to see Astrid there waiting for her house keeping lesson, it made her fears diminish. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" She asked.

"No I wanted to get here as soon as I got up." Astrid said proudly.

"Good then we can start with making breakfast and then go on to mending." Skullette said smiling and leaving to the back to get the supplies.

They made short work of breakfast as Astrid had some idea what to do thanks to her mother but when they moved on to the mending, it was like teaching a dragon how to fly with iced over wings.

"I'm never going to get this!" Astrid yelled out of frustration before throwing her needle and shirt to the floor.

"You give up to easily Astrid. Come here and I'll show you what you're doing wrong." Taking the shirt and needle from her she looked over the work. "You see, you need to go under then over and repeat it the same way. You are trying to go over then under. Your stitch will come out crooked that way."

Taking in this new information Astrid took back her mending and did as instructed. This continued till Nightingale sat up and started staring at the door and sniffing the air. The girls noticed and Skullette took in a deep breath. As she did the aroma of fish being cooked filled her nose. "Smells like it's time for lunch."

"Great. Let's cook some and bring it to the boys. I bet they didn't eat either." Astrid said putting her mending away.

It was cold at sea. All that surrounded them was open water. Not a hint of land for miles. "What are we doin' out here lookin' for some girl and a dragon?" one of the men asked the captain. "We should be out lookin' for another island ta take."

"I'll have none of it! By Thor you know why we need to look for her! She is the only one that knows the antidote! What do ya think is gonna happen ta yer families if we don't get them that Antidote?!" Bundar yelled at them. The crew was silent as no one had an answer against him. "Now stop your moaning and get back ta searching!"

The crew did just as instructed not wanting to anger their captain and chief. "I'll find ya. Even if it's the last thing I ever do." Bundar said in determination.

Skullette and Astrid were giggling at each other's comments as they made their way down to the forge to bring the guys something to eat. "… and then I fell right into the water. It was so cold but they dragged me out before I froze." Skullette said before they started giggling again.

Hiccup was the first one to notice them. "It looks like they have hit it off pretty well. It's good that Skullette has found a friend to talk to about girl things, ya know. She must have been pretty lonely, always by herself and never being able to fit in back on Gurand." Hiccup said putting the sword he was sharpening away.

"How would you know how she felt?" Gunnar asked putting down an axe he was mending.

"I felt the same way before I met Toothless and nearly ran away from Berk." They started walking out to meet the girls half way.

"Why did you nearly leave?" Gunnar asked.

Astrid was now telling Skullette about when she first met Toothless. "… and just as I rose my axe to strike, Hiccup jumps in the way and rips my axe from my hands. I'm actually glad I went to find out what he was doing. I think he was trying to run away."

"Why would he want to run away?" Skullette asked.

"Because just like Skullette/you I/he had to kill a dragon and I/he refused to because of Toothless." Hiccup and Astrid said together just before the others came in ear shot.

"Wow." Skullette was about to say something else but one of the adults blew a horn from the docks. Making everyone stop and listen.

"They're back! Our ships are back!" Just as the call was made Dragons were seen in the distance coming in fast.

Hiccup and Gunnar made it up to Astrid and Skullette. "The chief's back, we need to go meet him at the docks." Hiccup said excitedly. "It's about time we got our answers."

They quickly headed down to the docks where everyone else was waiting. Gobber was there in front and the moment he saw Skullette and Gunnar as well as Hiccup and Astrid coming his way he quickly whispered to some of the Vikings beside him. Just as the teens reached an opening in the crowed it closed up. And when Hiccup tried to squeeze through they grew tighter. "It looks like we will have to wait till they start unloading the ships." Gunnar said calmly. Begrudgingly the others agreed.

It seemed to take forever for the ships to come into port but when they finally did no one around the teens moved. Gobber was the first to great Stoic. "Good ta have ya back, how was Fishin'?" Gobber asked as he tried to lead him around the teens.

"Better than ever with the Dragon's help." Stoic said proudly.

"Good, now while ya were gone we had a few visitors arrive by Dragon. A Night Fury and Monstrous Nightmare, ta be exact and well they come from the island of Gurand." Gobber left it at that.

"Are ya sure?" he asked hesitantly.

Before Gobber could continue Hiccup had managed to get through a gap as the adults had started to disband. "Dad!"

"Hiccup, how have you been?" Stoic asked seeing his son after so long.

"Great. Dad I would like to introduce Skullette and Gunnar. They are here on a search." Hiccup explained.

"A search for what?" Stoic asked managing to keep his voice calm. Inside he was reliving his childhood as he looked upon Skullette's face.

"A search for my family." Skullette said stepping forward.

"Isn't your family on Gurand?" Stoic asked quickly.

"No." she left no room for argument on that subject. "My family is out here. And I believe I come from Berk. I was a sacrificial offering of peace between Gurand and another island 16 years ago. We have recently learned that Berk was at war with another island 16 years ago; and the only way for me to be a sacrifice is if I am from one of the main houses."

Stoic was silent for a few minutes a war was waging in his eyes which only a few noticed at the time. Finally he spoke in a gruff uneven tone. "Go home, where ya belong. If ya were a gift of peace, then the peace would be broken should ya return to where ya came from."

"Then you have sentenced her to die!" Gunnar exclaimed making nearly everyone go quiet.

"Gunnar…" Skullette tried but was cut off by the one she spoke to.

"NO! You have every right to know, as do they." He said to her before turning to look Stoic in the eye. "Her Step Father, Bundar the Wise, has sentenced her out of the tribe, telling her as she faced off against a Monstrous Nightmare in dragon training, that she was never his child and only a gift of peace just waiting to be thrown away. He tried to kill her in front of the whole tribe without hesitation. If you don't help her now they will find her, take what they want from her and kill her in front of everyone!" he said taking in deep breaths trying to calm his nerves down.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes before Stoic spoke. "Get to the house, we will talk there. You too Gobber." He said to his friend who was trying to sneak away.

As they all sat around the hearth Stoic sat and sighed deeply. Everyone was quiet waiting for the chief to say something.

"Alright, now wha' is this all 'bout?" he asked calmly.

Skullette was the first to speak. "It's a long story." She went on to continue on how she found Nightingale, and the poison that her mother and she had created. She went on to explain dragon training and the ordeal her step father tried to put her through. "Even though I know it's how the Viking Chief's deal with a new leader it is still unreasonable. Torrent was further back. He was slightly better than the twins and couldn't throw an axe half the distance that Gunnar can. If my step father was honest in who he wanted and what was right I should have been promised to Gunnar who tied with me for first in Dragon Training." She explained.

"Wai' a minute. Yer tellin' us that Bundar wanted ya to marry only who he wanted and not who was right? Why?" Gobber asked stopping Skullette in the middle of her story.

"I have a feeling it was because Torrent was more open to torture than I was. Torrent was always brutal before training but he never let off hitting on Gretchen who was just as cruel." Gunnar explained.

"So then what happened?" Hiccup asked placing his hand on her shoulder.

Skullette continued on to the Dragon Training finals and how Gunnar tried to reason with the chief. And how Gunnar ended up banished as well, Forcing Skullette to face the Nightmare alone and to forward the wedding to right after the fight.

"Wait a minute. You're engaged to be married?" Astrid asked.

Skullette was about to answer but Stoic beat her to it. "No, once she was banished he annulled the engagement."

"Right." Skullette continued. "So, just as Bundar was about to attack me Gunnar and Nightingale, my Night Fury, came down into the dome and helped me escape. We traveled to the main land for a few days and continued from there." She went on to explain all the places they stopped at and how she was nearly sacrificed on one of the islands that was guarded by a great Dragon; and then about the man that captured Gunnar to lure Skullette out to do unmentionable things to her. Finally she reached the part as to why her step father was after her. "So now because I am the only one with the antidote, Bundar is after me to get it back so he can save his people and continue to kill the dragons. Without it he can't use the poison or risk killing himself in the process."

Everyone was silent as they let all this information soak in. Gunnar was the only one not shocked by the story, having lived half of it with her.

Stoic was the first to speak as the rest came back to reality. "Gobber, do you have any reason to doubt that story that she has told us?"

"Not tha' I know of." Gobber said rubbing his chin with his good hand.

Gunnar knew where this was going but he wanted to make something known first. If anything it would add people to stop Skullette from going through with her plan that he knew was still in the forefront of her mind, even if she didn't show it. "Wait!" Gunnar said standing up.

"What is it?"Stoic asked.

"Skullette, tell them what you plan to do should we fail and Bundar gets close to you. Tell them what you nearly did when you found out about the marriage between Torrent and yourself. Tell them now… or I will." He warned her.

"What are you two on about? What did Skullette almost do?" Hiccup asked confused.

All eyes were on Skullette and Gunnar as they waited for one of them to speak. After not being able to take it anymore Gunnar sighed. "Fine, Skullette has a plan to off herself should worse come to worse. She nearly jumped from the ledge back on Gurand if I hadn't stopped her."

A round of gasps were heard from everyone in the room aside from Skullette and Gunnar. Stoic was the first to come to his senses and stand before Skullette. "Was yer life so miserable tha' ya really tho'ht of killin' yerself jus' ta get away from it?" he asked in a sad gruff tone.

Skullette sat there unmoving for a few moments before slowly nodding her head. To everyone's surprise Stoic fell to his knees in front of her. His head hung low in shame he held back his tears as time seemed to move slowly for everyone. "I… I'm so sorry." He whispered loud enough for only Skullette to hear him.

"For what?" her voice was quiet and nervous at the same time. Not knowing what was going to happen next.

"Twenty years ago I married the love of my life and when I found out she was goin' ta have a child four years later, ya can imagine how happy I was. But just a week after we found out, the tribe from Gurand attacked Berk. Fer many months we fought each other until the other chief and myself came ta an agreement of peace. We would not attack the other as long as we helped when the other called for it. Unfortunately he also asked that I also give him something to keep our promise. He asked me to give up my second child, knowing he could not ask fer my first. I had to abide by his wishes or the peace would fall through.

Months later my wife gave birth to Hiccup… and a second child. But because of the stress from the birth she didn't survive. I not only lost my second child that night, but I lost my wife." He raised his head to look Skullette in the eye. "If I had known that he would treat ya in such a way I would never have done it. And fer that I am truly sorry."

No one moved or spoke a word after that. The only sound was the cracking of wood as the flames licked at them in the hearth. Gobber cleared his throat making most of the kids jump as they were anticipating one of the two in front of them to speak first. "Well, uh… it is good ta hav' ya back Skullette. Do ya think tha' Bundar is goin' ta figure out where ya are?"

After Skullette didn't speak for a few moments Gunnar decided to answer him. "It is a possibility. He had not only his village but the men who captured me on the island before we got here. They will continue to look for us no matter how long it takes."

"Then we need to be ready for them." Stoic said before standing up. "Hiccup, Astrid, I need ya two ta gather everyone in the main hall for an important meeting. Gobber, I need ya ta start setting up for a normal war meeting but have one table behind us so I can present these two ta the Tribe." They nodded in understanding and quickly left to fulfill it. Hiccup paused only long enough to place his hand on his new found sister's shoulder and smile at her when she spun her head around at him. His smile was encouraging despite how everything was moving so fast.

She softly smiled back at him before he continued on his way out the door. As the door closed behind him, she turned back to her newly proclaimed father and smiled to herself, encouraging herself that everything was going to be alright, just like Hiccup's smile said the same.

"As for you two, I want to talk to you about what is going to happen at the meeting." Stoick went to sit so they could talk more comfortably when Skullette spoke up making the big chief stop in his tracks.

"Dad?" She called. "I just want you to know, I don't blame you for what you did 16 years ago. You had to put the village before your personal feelings and I don't blame you for having to give me up to Bundar; just as long as I don't have to go back to him."

Stoic turned around to face them with a half smile on his face. "He banished ya, if he comes here givin' me a speech 'bout keepin' a deal. I get ta wipe tha' smug look off his ugly li'l face. He said he would take care of ya. I don't think banishin' ya, ta be takin' good care of ya."

She smiled up at him once more before he cleared his throat. "Now, back to business."

They sat down discussing what was going to happen at the meeting and who was going to speak first. This continued for a few more minutes till it was time to head to the mead hall. "Well, e're goes nothin'." Stoic said as he led the two up the hill and into the hall.

**Cliffy! Anyway's… like it, love it, hate it? Tell me please… cause the story only gets better if people tell ya what you did wrong. So R and R at the bottom so I can improve or if you just want to give me a positive feedback so I know I'm doing something right. So till next time… ta!**


	11. Preparations

**I don't own 'How To Train Your Dragon' or its Characters… I do own any new characters that may appear in the story… also… the accents are hard to do so forgive me if I miss places where they talk normal instead of accent written. With that said and done… let's get on with the story.**

**Chapter 11: Preparations**

Everyone in the village was gathered in the mead hall waiting for Stoic to explain what was so important. Among the confused and whispering tribe members were Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Astrid was the one who had found them with their dragons near the high cliffs practicing.

"What do you think is so important that they asked everyone to come to the mead hall to announce?" Fishlegs asked innocently.

"Please, I bet this has to do with Skullette and Gunnar, they're the only ones not here." Tuffnut said grinning as his sister smacked him.

"Of course it is. Couldn't you tell how much Skullette was like…" she was cut off by a loud bellowing voice that echoed over everyone's whispers.

"Silence!" Stoic bellowed before everyone turned their attention on the chief. "I know yer all wond'ren wha' w're doin' e're. As ya all know we have two new comers ta Berk. Wha' ya don't know is that one of them was born e're. Ya all remember my wife and the most Stubborn and crazy Viking she gave birth ta." He said patting his son's shoulder as everyone cheered. "Wha' ya don't know is he has a sister and while I was gone ya all got to meet her. Now she has brought something to my attention. When I sadly offered her to Bundar the Wise on Gurand Island as a symbol of peace, he promised to treat her as his own. He did no such thin'! I come ta ya taday, not only ta welcome these two into the Tribe, but ta give orders on a war that is headed our way. When he banished Skullette she had somethin' tha' he needs ta kill Dragons with. A poison that he still knows, what he wants is the antidote to save his people. If we give him the antidote soon he will come for more Dragon blood. Whose ta say he won't come after ours? So we will fight him and his army should they come here looking for her. Who's with me?" He yelled, raising his fist into the air for emphasis.

An uproar of agreement filled the mead hall. Not one voice went unheard. Gunnar relaxed slightly, knowing that with the village behind them and Skullette reunited with her father and brother things were starting to look up. But as he turned to face Skullette, that happy encouragement dropped.

While she was happy to know that she was finally reunited with her family, she was still worried. Seeing Gunnar turn to her she knew her expression worried him as well.

"What's wrong?" He asked walking up to her.

"I'm glad to be back with St- Dad and Hiccup but I know that Bundar isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants. I don't know why they would risk their lives for someone they barely know." Skullette expressed her worry.

Gunnar opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off by another voice. "That's easy." Hiccup said smiling as he walked up to her. "You're family and a part of this Tribe from birth. We don't need to know you completely. Just enough to know that what you say is true. And I have got to say, flying in on a Night Fury is proof enough for us."

"He's right. I mean you two helped us, now it's our turn to help you." Astrid said pulling Skullette toward everyone while Hiccup led Gunnar.

The two teens looked slightly confused. "How did I help you? All I did was sit in the house and do my normal routine. I cooked, cleaned, and kept the house in order."

"You taught me how to cook, brought to our attention that a war was coming. Not everyone would do that." Astrid explained.

"And Gunnar's been helping me in the Forge. He's actually very good at making weapons as well as using them." Hiccup complimented.

Stoic took that moment to lift Skullette up onto the table followed closely by Gunnar. "Everyone! Welcome Skullette back home and also welcome into the Tribe Gunnar!" Roars of applause echoed through the hall as everyone celebrated. Stoic raised his hands for silence before everyone settled down. "I know you're all excited to have them in the tribe, but a war is coming. Bundar is coming for her and we will not let him have her after what he has done. So tomorrow we prepare for their arrival but tonight, we celebrate!" another round of cheers filled the hall. Before Stoic said anything else Gobber came up next to him with something in his good hand. "And now, seeing as Skullette is my daughter I would like to present her with this." He gently placed a woven headband on her head till it stayed around her skull. It was woven leather with small stones in every other center gaps for design. "Now you are a true Viking." He said with a smile.

A smile came to her face as she looked up into her real fathers eyes. She saw something in them that she had missed for many years. The love that glimmered in his eyes, just as it had in her mothers. Seeing this emotion after so many years, she couldn't stop her body from jumping into his arms and hugging him around his neck as she whispered one word into his ear. "Daddy."

Instantly he returned the hug while rubbing her back. He only stayed like that for a moment before pulling her away gently. "Now." He said looking at all four of the teens. "What's this talk I heard about a Night Fury?"

Bellows of Laughter could be heard resonating all over Berk. The source of this laughter comes from the Chief himself as he looks upon the great beast of Lightning and Death itself. "How did ya manage ta find a Night Fury?!" Stoic asked ecstatic while grinning from ear to ear.

"I saved her." Skullette said walking up to Nightingale who was standing next to Toothless. "She was spared from being found somehow." She patted Nightingale on her neck in comfort. "It was during a raid that I found her. She was at the bottom of a large grotto, lying in the snow. As I got closer I noticed she wasn't hurt in anyway, but she wasn't moving. When I reached her I pulled out my dagger and got ready to strike, but when I looked into her big green eyes, I couldn't. Here she was, the greatest dragon ever, A Night Fury, and I couldn't finish her off. She was weak and helpless at that moment and you know what I did? I helped her; I caught a fish, cut it in half, filled it with my antidote and fed it to Nightingale." She explained. "After winter she was well enough to fly but she never left completely. She flew around at night but never attacked anyone. It wasn't until the first day of Dragon Training that Gunnar found out about Nightingale and by then me and her were best friends. I would tell her everything and she would comfort me when I was down. I don't know how I could ever repay her." Skullette said as she hugged Nightingale around the neck earning a purr from the dragon.

Everyone was quiet as she told her story, but as she ended it Hiccup couldn't help but think of something. "So you never went flying with Nightingale?"

Skullette let Nightingale go and looked at Hiccup with a slightly confused face. "The first time I went flying with her was when I escaped from Bundar with Gunnar and her. Gunnar was already banished so I asked him to wait with Nightingale and come to my rescue if something went wrong with the Nightmare."

"Wait, so you never flew with Nightingale until you left? Do you realize how dangerous that was? A Night Fury can go a lot faster than any other dragon; it's what makes them so dangerous. If you had fallen off at any time while flying, you could have seriously gotten hurt." Hiccup explained.

Skullette glared at Gunnar. "Told you so."

Everyone except the two looked back and forth between them confused, until Gunnar spoke up. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Thank you Nightingale for catching me."

"Can someone explain this to me?" Astrid asked not liking being kept in the dark.

"When I fought Bundar he punched me in the ribs. At first I didn't notice it but when we were in the air on Nightingales back I lost consciousness from the pain." Gunnar explained.

"Let's not forget that it was the second time you fought him in a row." She chided. "He fought Bundar the evening before to stop my marriage and to make a deal with the dragons. But Bundar would hear none of it and gave Gunnar a few reminders of who's in charge."

"So how did ya fly on 'er?" Stoic asked wanting to move this conversation along.

"I tied a fur around her with ropes to keep it on her and so I could have something to hold onto."

Astrid spoke up again with a sneaky smile on her face. Skullette knew what was coming before she uttered the words. "Why don't we all go flying?" Astrid asked cheerfully earning a glare from Skullette.

"Tha' sounds like a great' idea!" Stoic said excitedly. "Ya kids 'ave fun. I 'ave a few thing's ta do." He went off to do his chiefly duties and help to prepare for war.

"I don't know if flying with only a fur and rope is a good idea." Hiccup said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's okay. I can't go flying anyways." Skullette said before turning to go back to the house. But a voice stopped her before she could even take a step.

"Why is that?" Astrid asked in fain surprise while Gunnar and Hiccup were left confused. The girl knew how to play her cards and damn it if she didn't leave Skullette in a spot she couldn't get out of. If she didn't tell the boys about the fur then Astrid would.

"I cut up the fur to make the blankets I gave you guys." She said Hiccup and Gunnar.

"What in Thor's name possessed you to do that?" Gunnar asked confused.

"I didn't think I would go flying again." Skullette said now rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"Hiccup, why not have Skullette ride with you and Toothless like I did." Astrid suggested.

"That could work." he said thinking it over. "Yeah, why not." He said fully agreeing now. "And Nightingale can fly right beside us."

Knowing there was no getting out of it Skullette agreed and they all saddled up and took to the skies.

Skullette was amazed at how easily Hiccup and Toothless flew together. It was so graceful and unique. As for Toothless' fake fin, that would seem to be an interesting story to hear later. Now as she looked at Hiccup she could see his skin harness and the straps he has that connect him to the saddle to keep him on Toothless as they flew. Looking over to her left she could see Astrid on her dragon, a Nadder, and Gunnar on Notte who all looked content. Flying seemed to be relaxing to them and even she had to admit that it was. Turning to her right she could see Nightingale flying much like Toothless but as she watched her closely something seemed to be off with her. She almost looked sad as she seemed to glance over to her rider. When she noticed Nightingale glance over to her, she flashed her a smile in hopes to raise her spirits if only for a moment.

"Hiccup, how do you know if…" she stopped herself for a moment unsure of how to continue her question.

"If what?" Hiccup asked even Toothless looked back curiously.

"If what you're doing is right? How can you be sure that what you plan to do is for the best?" as she asked this she couldn't take her eyes off of Nightingale. She looked so lonely flying without her.

Hiccup looked at her for a moment before he followed her eyes to the second Night Fury. "Well when I first saw Toothless I thought much like you did about Nightingale, but when I went looking in the woods to understand him I discovered that even if you try and fail at least you have discovered something. That's how I gained the ability to ride with Toothless."

Skullette thought this over in her head for a bit before saying more to herself than anyone else, "I wish I could ride with Nightingale like you do on Toothless, Hiccup." she gently laid her head on the back of Hiccup's shoulder as she watched Nightingale fly beside them.

When they landed the boys went back to the forge to finish up their work, while the girls went back to the Chief's house. Skullette and Astrid needed to gather supplied to help the injured and for storage. While the boys had to get back to their weapons as well as making sure they had everything ready for the fight coming their way.

Just past the shores and rock formations of Berk sat a ship watching the teens fly on their dragons. The man put the spy glass down as a crooked smile came to his face. His black eyes seemed to gleam with victory. "Let's head back to base and tell the Bundar what we've found! In a few days time, we'll have our fun!" the captain said as the crew cheered.

He made his way to the front of the ship with a sneer etched on his face. "Soon," his whispered to himself as they pulled away from the island, "Soon that girl will be mine and I will destroy anyone who stands in my way."

Gunnar and Hiccup had finally finished the last few axes for the day and about to head back to the house. It was at that moment that Gunnar noticed all the drawings on Hiccup's back wall.

"Hey Hiccup, are these your designs for Toothless' saddle?" he asked noticing a few of the saddle pictures and how he had designed them over and over again.

"Yeah some of the first tries. It took a lot of time to get it right before I started making it." He said walking up to the old pictures. It was then that he saw the look that Gunnar had on. It was one of deep thought and concentration. "Why do you ask?"

Gunnar blinked a few times as he came back down to Berk and away from his thoughts. "Well I was thinking back to this afternoon. Nightingale seemed rather sad that Skullette didn't ride on her back when we went flying." There was silence as Hiccup took in his words.

"You know, you've helped me out a lot with getting the weapons ready, how about I help you make a saddle for Skullette and Nightingale?" a grin came to their faces as an agreement was made between them. Quickly putting together a plan to come back after everyone was asleep to get started.

For now they were going to head back for dinner. And to check on how well Astrid had done on her Housekeeping lesson.

It didn't take long to get there and they could already smell dinner coming from the house. Stoic had declined on dinner at home because of all the planning he had to do with the village. Hiccup was first to walk into the house and be greeted by the two dragons. Astrid was stirring the stew in the pot while Skullette was nowhere to be seen. "Hey Astrid, smells good."

Gunnar was the first to ask, "Where's Skullette?"

Astrid looked up from the food and glanced around the room. "She must still be outside."

Gunnar was about to go out to look for her when Hiccup stopped him. "I'll go find her; I know these woods like the back of my hand." Gunnar nodded in understanding and sat down with Astrid to wait for their return. Hiccup brought along Toothless and Nightingale and took off to look for his sister.

Down in the grotto sat Skullette. She watched the water and thought over everything that had happened since she found Nightingale and how her life has changed since finding her father and twin brother. "I can't let Bundar get the antidote but I don't want to leave behind my family and friends now that I finally found where I belong." She watched as the fish swam near the shore only to swim away again as two dragons landed behind Skullette and a metal and normal foot landed on the ground.

"Can't hide long around here huh." Skullette said with a hint of laughter in her voice. She continued looking at the water, just as before.

"No, not long. What are you doing out here in the first place?" Hiccup asked as he sat down next to her. Toothless and Nightingale curled around the two so that their heads are at the teen's feet.

"Thinking." She couldn't seem to bring herself to look at him. He was her brother but she barely knew him.

"About Bundar?" silence filled the air at the mention of the monsters name.

"Among other things." She finally said in almost a whisper.

Silence surrounded them once more. Nightingale brought her head closer to Skullette in comfort. She stroked the black dragons head in gratitude earning a happy purr sound to come from the dragon. Slowly a smile came to Skullette's face as she looked to Nightingale and remembered everything that they had been through. After coming to a decision she found the strength to look to her brother and smile. "Let's head back. Gunnar and Astrid will get worried."

Hiccup laughed lightly as they got up from the ground and started climbing onto Toothless.

"I'm sure Astrid isn't all that worried. Gunnar on the other hand probably thinks you're trying to… well you know." A sly smile came to her face that no one seemed to notice.

"I know. Let's get back before dad sends out a search party."

They made their way back and landed just outside of the house right as Astrid stepped outside. She smiled as Skullette and Hiccup hopped off of Toothless' back before walking up to them.

"You found her I see. Well I have to get home before my mother starts to get worried." Hiccup smiled to her before starting to walk inside with the dragons behind him. The girls waited for him to close the door before they spoke.

"I'll meet you on the hill after everyone's gone to bed." Skullette nodded in agreement before heading inside.

She was greeted by a stare from Gunnar and Hiccup who was stuffing his face with a fish and the stew that Astrid had made.

"Skullette this stew is great. Did you make this?" he asked not wanting the two to fight over her going off on her own. She walked past Gunnar and joined Hiccup with a bowl of stew and a fish from the hearth.

"Actually Astrid made it on her own. I only got out the ingredients and started the fire before going out and feeding the dragons."

The three had a quiet dinner and once they had all finished Skullette took the dishes to the back room to be washed. Hiccup had gone up to his room to work on a few alterations to the Nightmares saddle to fit for Nightingale. Gunnar on the other hand headed to the back room. He needed to talk to Skullette about why she had wondered off.

He walked in quietly so that she didn't know he was coming up behind her. As he stepped closer to her he slowed his breathing and calmed his heart. All things he was used to doing when sneaking around back on Gurand.

"It isn't all that easy to sneak up on me Gunnar." He stopped just inches away from her.

"Wait, how could you tell I was sneaking up on you?" She stopped washing and turned to face him.

"I didn't, I just knew you wanted to talk to me ever since I walked through the door." Understanding crossed his face before he leaned up against the wall.

"So where did you go without telling anyone where you had gone off to?" he asked demanding an answer more than asking for one.

"I only went off to think, as for where I went, let's just say we changed our lives there." She said with a grin before going back to the dishes she was doing. Having to deal with that answer he left and headed on up to bed.

Later that night Hiccup and Gunnar snuck past Skullette's room and down the steps hoping not to wake Stoic in the process. Once outside they quickly headed down to the forge only pausing to hide from a watchman doing his rounds. It was at one of these moments that Hiccup looked out to the woods, watching for any danger that may come their way, but what he saw made him take a second look. He saw two shadows head deeper into the woods. After taking another look he didn't see it anymore. Believing it to be a trick of the night he leaves it at that and followed Gunnar back to the forge.

Once inside Hiccup brought out his sketches as well as a copy sketch of his harness that keeps him attached to the saddle. "First you want to get the layout of saddle drawn out on the leather before you cut it. Now you want at least this much extra." He made a 2" gap between his thumb and first finger. In the mean time I'm going to make her a harness so she will stay on Nightingale's back." Hiccup said as he got out some leather he had gotten from the storage back at the house. "That shouldn't be too hard." He said sarcastically before getting to work.

Skullette had climbed down a rope from her bedroom window so she didn't have to sneak past everyone in the house. Once on solid ground she quietly made her way past the dragons and to the wood lining before heading up to the hill to meet up with Astrid. It didn't take long to reach the hill and find Astrid waiting for her. "Took you long enough." Astrid said jokingly before grabbing her axe and walking into the woods once again.

As they made their way to Astrid's training spot Skullette noticed a dark shadow near the houses stop and seem to look their way. She grabbed Astrid and brought her to the ground quietly and indicated to be quiet. They watched as the dark figure walked on before going deeper into the forest. Once they arrived at the so called training grounds Astrid turned to Skullette. They had the moonlight to help them see but that was about it.

"So first I want to know what kind of weapons you can use." Skullette pulled out her bow and arrows that she had kept on her back.

"I'm best at using a bow and arrows, but I have used an axe and a dagger before. Other than that I can't use anything else." Astrid sighed before flipping her axe in the air and landing it in the trunk of a tree. "Then let's get started. We have a lot of work to do and only a few hours to do it in." They set to work training Skullette in how to throw an axe or dagger should she need to be in close combat during the battle.

**Well that took longer than expected but next chapter is the battle so I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Warning the next chapter may be shorter than this one but you will notice that most of the next chapter will be fighting. Please R&R, thank you.**


	12. A Battle and A Decision

**Yay.. big battle scene you have all been waiting for. Ok onward and upward. I don't own How To Train Your Dragon or any of its characters… I do own all New Characters. Please R & R at the end and thank you for reading this story.**

**Chapter 12: A Battle and A Decision**

Bundar stood on the cliffs of Gurand waiting for the ship to be ready. He had been forced to come back home to restock supplies. He had sent that Black hearted Pirate to continue searching close to the Meridian of Misery, in hopes of finding a clue as to where they could have landed. That also brought them a little too close to Berk and if she had landed there he would have a reason to plunder Berk and finally take out Stoick once and for all.

Soon Bundar's thoughts were interrupted by someone from the docks. "Sir, the Pirate ship has arrived. He says he has news of where the girl is." He announced quickly. Bundar merely looked out at the ocean for a moment more before heading down to speak to the Pirate.

When Bundar arrived at the docks he was quickly led to the Pirate captain who was waiting on the gang plank at the end of the dock. "Ya hav' word of the girl?" Bundar asked in a deep and warning voice. "Yes I do and you will never believe where she is." The man said with an evil grin. Bundar merely darkened his look not wanting to waste time with the Pirates games. "She's on Berk."

Bundar's eyes widened for only a moment before turning back to his tribe who were awaiting news on the dock. "Ready the Ships! We head ta Berk fer Battle!" he yelled. The pirate hid a sly grin as he turned away from the Viking to ready his ship for the voyage back.

Skullette and Astrid were out in the woods training it was once again late at night but it had been nearly a week since they started training. In that time Skullette had been able to throw an axe at a tree but not enough to get it to stay in the trunk of the tree. Soon the sun was starting to rise into the sky and the girls had to call it quits for the night.

"Not bad Skullette. A little more practice and you'll be better than your brother." Astrid praised her. She grinned at the praise and started to gather her things as Astrid grabbed her own.

They quietly snuck back to the village and went their own ways when they came to the edge of the forest.

It had taken all week but it was finally finished. Hiccup had finished the rider harness earlier in the week but wouldn't show it to him. Saying that it was a surprise and didn't want anyone to see it, but after bugging Hiccup for two days about it he decided to give up seeing as Hiccup was just as stubborn as Skullette and there was no winning that argument without losing something.

"Hey Hiccup, what do you think?" Gunnar asked as he held up the finished saddle.

Hiccup looked up from his sketch before grinning at the finished piece before him. "That looks great Gunnar, I'm sure Skullette and Nightingale will love it." He noticed the sky starting to brighten as he put his things away. "Looks like it's time to head back home before Skullette wakes us up and have us do the dishes again."

"That's the last thing I need right now." Gunnar said quickly putting the saddle away and grabbing their jackets.

They put out the lights and headed back to the house.

Skullette got to the rope placed outside her window before looking around to be sure no one noticed her. Seeing no one she quickly started to make her way up the side of the house. Half way up she noticed movement coming her way. Thinking it was someone waking up extra early to get a head start on chores she hid herself behind the curved house. She couldn't see who it was but not wanting to be caught and asked what she was doing Skullette thought it would be better to hid at the moment. After the footsteps became quiet she continued her climb up the rope and into her room. Making short work of rolling up the rope and hiding it away, she climbed into bed and went to sleep for the short time she had left.

Hiccup and Gunnar soon made it to the top of the hill. Hiccup had thought he saw something as he got closer to the house but blew it off as Toothless or Nightingale moving on the roof. They quietly opened the door and closed it behind them before sneaking up the stairs and into their own beds. Hiccup had to be extra quiet due to his leg and having to sneak past his sister's room.

During the week the village had wrapped their heads around the fact that Skullette was Hiccup's sister and a welcomed part of the Tribe. As for Gunnar, the village and mostly Hiccup learned to deal with his obsession with weapons.

Gunnar had already made it to his room and into bed while Hiccup was just entering his room. As he closed his door and looked to his bed he found both dragons in his room and on Toothless' rock bed.

He stopped in his tracks as he remembered the shadow on the house as he got closer. Not wanting to take any chances he decided to make a round of the house just to be sure no strangers were in the house with them. Slowly opening the door he made it down the stairs and checked every room, including his fathers, if only for a moment. Then feeling satisfied with downstairs being clear, he made back up and did a quick check with Gunnar who was asleep and found nothing wrong.

After making quick work of checking the house he realized that the only room he hadn't checked was Skullette's. Closing Gunnar's door silently, he creped inside Skullette's and took a look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Plants and containers in one corner, Nightingale's sleeping rock that both dragons share on occasion and Skullette in her bed on the other side of the room, with a wood closet against the far wall. Nothing seemed out of order as he walked through the room, but as he went past her closet he noticed a piece of rope sticking out. Bending down he opened the door and pulled out a good amount of rope. His mind ran with all different reasons as to why she would have this rope, and not all of them ended well. But being as smart as he is, he didn't want to jump to conclusions and decided to ask her about it in the morning.

He hid the rope back where he found it and finished his round before going back to his own room to get a bit of sleep. Even if that shadow did still bother him, at least he knew it was no danger right now.

Later that same day after everyone had woken up, Gunnar headed out the door for a bit of weapons practice seeing as all the weapons for the upcoming battle where all finished. This left Hiccup and Skullette alone in the house. She was cleaning the dishes from breakfast and Hiccup was feeding the dragons who apparently didn't want to leave each others' sides.

As Hiccup walked back in he couldn't help but see the distant look in his sister's eyes as she washed the dishes. Remembering the rope in her room he tried to think of a conversation starter that didn't sound like he was snooping around her room. Not being able to think of one he decided to try and ask Gunnar about it. Hoping that he might have an idea on the subject.

"I'm going to head out for a bit, I already fed Toothless, Notte, and Nightingale." Hiccup informed Skullette who was too busy doing the dishes to look back at him.

"I'll right, I think I'll go out in a bit to gather some extra ingredients. With this battle coming up we will need all the healing herbs we can get."

Hiccup awkwardly stood there for a moment before shuffling towards the door. "Good, well… um… se-see ya later then." Quickly closing the door behind him he headed out to where he knew Gunnar was training.

Hearing the door shut behind Hiccup, Skullette stopped washing the last dish to take a quick look around. Dad had left for the meeting, Gunnar was out training and her brother was out doing who knows what. Probably out with Astrid if she was lucky. She quickly finished the last dish before leaving it to dry and heading up to her room.

She had been sure to hide her little project from the others, she knew what she was planning was dangerous but it was the only way to ensure that her point was made clear. Closing her bedroom door behind her, she went to her window and closed it. Lighting her candle she went over to her closet and dug past the rope she used to get out and grabbed the pouch she had hidden away.

It was slightly bigger than her hands and it was only half full of some kind of liquid. "A few more and it should be ready." She quickly put it away and grabbed her basket before blowing out the candle, and heading out the door. She was going for herbs and berries, just as she had said.

Gunnar sat on a rock drinking some water from his water pouch. He had just finished training with his crossbow and sword, thinking of ways to go from one to the other with little time in between. When the battle was really here he wouldn't have time to rest till it was all over with.

"Gunnar!" Said man looked up from his pouch to see Hiccup headed his way. He seemed a bit out of breath and a hint of worry in his voice.

Standing up he waved the young man over and offered him his water pouch. Hiccup thanked him and drank quickly. After taking a few deep breaths he calmed down enough to speak. "Last night as we were nearing the house I saw a shadow against the house."

Gunnar stopped him there, "Couldn't that have been Toothless or Nightingale?"

"I thought that at first too, but when I got to my room they were both fast asleep and in such a position I couldn't tell whose wing was whose." Gunnar grew concerned at this point and listened carefully to what Hiccup said next. "So I took a quick look around the house, no one downstairs, and no one in dad's room but him. I then headed upstairs, took a quick check in your room just to see if you had found any intruders. Finding nothing wrong I closed the door and went to Skullette's room."

Gunnar had to stop him once again. "She didn't say anything at breakfast, did something happen?"

Hiccup quickly calmed his fears. "No she's fine. She was asleep but I took a look around her room just to be safe. You never know if someone tried to sneak on to Berk and try to take her. So as I was looking around I noticed something sticking out of her closet." Gunnar leaned in, Skullette was hiding something and Hiccup was about to tell him what it was. "I found that it was a rope. Why would she have a rope in her closet?"

Gunnar pulled away from Hiccup and gave him a look that said, 'You're kidding, right?' before he decided to say what he thought. "Hiccup, what you have here is very understandable." He placed a hand and indicated for Hiccup to come closer, like he was about to tell him a secret. "You have a case that only very few people know about it. Skullette has a rope in her room because maybe it's the one she rides with; but you my friend, your problem is…" He looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Over protective syndrome." He gingerly pulled away from him after that to take a look at the young man's face.

Hiccup thought about this. He's being over protective because he knows what Skullette is planning to do if Bundar gets close to her. Seeing the rope may have made him think the worst when really it was only flying equipment in her closet. "Maybe your right?" he said with a sigh. "Maybe I am just being over protective. Still the sooner we give Skullette her saddle and harness the better I'll start to feel."

The two stood up and started to head back to the village. They needed to get the saddle and harness from the blacksmith shop and back to the house before Skullette got back with her herbs. Along the way they had to get back to what it was that Hiccup saw.

"So what do you think was on the roof?" Hiccup asked still confused as to what he saw.

"It was probably just a Terrible Terror looking for anything left over from the dragon's dinners." Gunnar reassures.

With a relaxing sigh Hiccup agreed, "Yeah, you're probably right."

They finally made it to the shop and grabbed the saddle and the carrier that Hiccup put the harness in. Once they had everything they quickly made their way back to the house before Skullette.

Speaking of the girl, she was currently deep in the woods gathering a few berries and putting them at the bottom of the basket, before heading to another place where she had seen some of the plants that have roots essential to cleaning cuts. She had been out for a while now and decided to take a rest before heading back to the house.

Skullette recalled her journey once again. She knew her plan was the only way to go, but she felt bad about deceiving everyone. Sadly it was the only way to get her point across, if anyone knew her plan Bundar would find out, and he was the one she needed to prove it to.

Her thoughts traveled to better times. Like the past week she got to know the tribe and her family. She knew her father was strong and brave, but he treated everyone equally, and he wanted his children to do the same. Her brother, Hiccup, he was another story. He had told her about when he found Toothless after shooting him out of the sky, and how he had lost his leg. But what surprised her most was how, even though they were miles away on different islands, they were treated much the same. Both disappointments to the village they lived in, and both of their fathers wanting them to stop being different.

This was probably why she was so down about hiding her plan from him most; aside from Nightingale that is. That was the other thing that worried her, how was she going to keep Nightingale safe? She and Toothless have become very close over the time they have been here. How could she take her away from him now?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a movement in front of her. She had taken to keeping a knife on her at all times since training with Astrid. It had been her idea to keep it close in case there was nothing else on hand. Her right hand slowly crept to her left sleeve while she watched the bush in front of her for any sudden movements. Just as she wrapped her hand around her dagger, a Terrible Terror popped out of the bushes followed by two others. Letting go of her dagger she smiled at the small dragons. She watched as they played at her feet for a while before chasing each other off again.

Once they were out of site she stretched before grabbing her basket and heading back home. It wouldn't take her long now that she had a feel of the island.

Hiccup and Gunnar had just finished setting up dinner when Skullette stepped inside. They quickly stood in front of something that she couldn't quite see but knew it was certainly not something that was easy to hide, considering it peaked out in places behind them. "What are you two up to?" she asked curious of their behavior.

The two looked at each other before turning back to her and saying in unison, "Nothing."

She gave them a look that told them she knew what they said wasn't true. Hiccup was first to speak up. "We just wanted to surprise you by making dinner. Gunnar was telling me about, when back on Gurand, he would cook a fish something. What was it again?"

Before Gunnar could reply Skullette stopped him. "I am not buying that for a second. I'm going upstairs for a minute to put my things away and then I'll be back down. When you want to tell me the truth then, maybe I'll listen to you." with that she made her way upstairs and into her room.

Once the door was shut Hiccup and Gunnar uncovered the saddle and basket. They couldn't wait till after dinner to show her now. She had seen them try to hide it. "So, do you want to do the honors? She is your sister." Gunnar said brushing off the saddle one last time.

"No, how about together, you did work on it after all. And besides, you've known her longer." Hiccup said giving him a small grin.

They set it down behind their seats just before they heard Skullette coming back down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom and looked at them as they grinned at her. She hesitantly came closer before looking into the pot in front of them and stirred it a little. "Anything you want to tell me?" she asked.

Gunnar was first to step forward. "We have a confession to make." He announced before Hiccup followed him and spoke next.

"We've been sneaking out at night all week and going to the forge." He said rubbing his back of his neck for a moment.

This got her attention as she looked up at them with wide eyes. "What were you doing at the forge? I didn't think that many weapons needed to be constructed."

Gunnar spoke up at this outspoken thought. "We weren't exactly working on weapons at the forge."

Hiccup continued, "We were making something for you."

Skullette looked from Hiccup to Gunnar and back again before sitting down and listening to the rest of their confession. "For me, what is it?"

The boys head back to where they had hidden the saddle and harness. Having both covered in a tarp they picked it up and brought it over to her. Hiccup was the first to remove a tarp revealing a brown harness much like his own but with a few alterations to it. There was a symbol of a mystery class dragon in the middle of the crossed straps and the crossed straps were slightly wider so as not to slip when she moved.

"Wow Hiccup this is great, but what are the cables on the belt for?" she asked as she took the harness and examined it.

Gunnar removed the last tarp to reveal a saddle much like the one for toothless but it didn't have the stirrups and was designed to be light weight.

Skullette was awe struck. She couldn't find words or even a coherent thing to say. It was magnificent, better than she had ever dreamed of. The only thing she could do was hug her brother and Gunnar at the same time. "Thank you guys, so much, I love it!" she said before letting them go and examining the saddle. It looked much like Hiccup's minus the fin and stirrups of course. Seeing this and discovering that they had been sneaking out to build it for her made her feel guilty about her secret with Astrid. "You know guys; I have a secret to tell to."

Hiccup and Gunnar looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Skullette waiting for her to continue. "You see the past week…" she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Gunnar, being the closest, answered it. At the entrance stood Astrid who looked a bit out of breath, but before she could speak Skullette pulled her in and showed her the saddle and harness the boys had made for her. "Aren't these great Astrid, the boy's snuck out of the house this past week to make this for me." She said hinting at what she was really trying to get across. "I was just about to tell them what _we_ have been up too." she emphasized seeing how Astrid wasn't following.

Finally a knowing look came across her face before turning to the boys who were even more confused now. "You see Skullette wanted to learn how to fight better and not just long range with her bow and arrows." Astrid started to explain before Skullette finished.

"Which is why I have been sneaking out to secretly train with Astrid in the middle of the night? She's taught me how to throw an axe and fight close combat. I can hold my own if need be." She hoped the boys wouldn't be mad about this but what they did next confused both Astrid and herself.

Hiccup and Gunnar were laughing, hysterically. And when they finally calmed down Gunnar was the first to speak. "Let me guess, you climbed out your window, down a rope and into the woods, right?" he said trying to hold back a laugh, Hiccup was quickly loosing that battle though.

The girls looked at each other before nodding seeing how it was Astrid's idea in the first place. This sent the boys into more laughter before Hiccup could calm down enough to speak "So you were the 'Terrible Terror' we saw last night." This brought on another wave of laughter.

The girls didn't find this very amusing or even remotely funny. Scowling at them seemed to calm them down enough for them to talk normal once again. "We are sorry but Hiccup thought you were a dragon when he saw a shadow move on the roof last night."

Before either could laugh they saw Astrid hand Skullette a lighter and slightly smaller Axe. She took it with a smile before glaring at her brother.

Having seen that look once before, Gunnar leaned down to Hiccup and whispered one word. "Run."

No sooner had the world left his mouth than the young man was out the door and running down the hill Skullette following close behind screaming, "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Get back here! How can you mistake your own sister for a Dragon!"

Hiccup was able to yell back a plea of, "It was dark, what else was I supposed to think?!" as he continued running for his life. Hiccup was able to make it to the Blacksmith shop before turning around and smiling. "You won't follow me in here!" he slightly mocked.

Skullette stopped just a yard from the shop glaring at her brother before something out in the sea caught her eyes. Turn to see what it was she felt as though time stopped. Her axe slowly feel from her fingers and on to the ground, her eyes became wide and fearful, her heart started to race and she felt as though she couldn't move. She didn't even see or hear Hiccup come out beside her or hear Gunnar and Astrid come up behind them. It was only when Gunnar spoke did she know they were there but didn't dare move from her spot.

"Bundar." It came out a growl from Gunnar's lips but it was all true. Out in the bay, was Bundar's ship.

It didn't take long to inform Stoick of the other Tribes arrival or for him to make it down to the docks to greet them. Stoick waited for the ship to come into port and allowed them to tie off. Bundar was first to step off and greet the chief. "Stoick the Vast, wha' an honor, that you would allow us to dock in yer harbor." Bundar said sticking his hand out in greeting.

"Bundar the Wise, wha' brings ya to my island? I thought we had an agreement." Stoick took his hand in a firm grip as they measured each other's strength.

"Oh we did Stoick, but it seems somethin' has happened. You see, in the middle of our Dragon trainin' _my_ Wonderful Skullette ran off and I've been all over the sea lookin' fer her. You wouldn't have happened ta see her, have ya?" he loosely explained.

"I heard it differently Bundar, I heard ya were gonna kill her in front of the village. Not to mention tryin' ta marry her off to someone not even rightly fitted ta be Chief." Stoick said folding his arms daring the man before him to say differently.

"If yu're holding her Stoick, it's an act of war." Bundar warned.

Stoick wouldn't stand for being told he was a cause for something. "Skullette landed on my island with her Dragon an' friend. She told me everythin' 'bout ya Bundar; the hel ya put her through. Ya tried to kill _MY_ daughter! Tha' is what nulled our agreement! I will not hand her over ta ya and allow it ta continue! Ya brought this war on yourself, not me. I suggest ya ready yer men Bundar. We'll be waiting."

Bundar growled at him before stepping back on board and commanding his ship back to sea. Just as the ship started to leave dock Bundar called back to him. "I will get wha' I came for Stoick even if it means killing everyone she holds dear!"

Stoick waited for the ship to be out of sight before turning to his villagers and warriors. "Ready the ships and yerselves! We leave at dawn!" everyone cheered before heading back to the village. Stoick took one last look out to sea before heading up to his house where he knew Hiccup, Skullette and Gunnar would be waiting.

In the chief's house Skullette was pacing while Hiccup say at the table thinking up different plans for the battle that was sure to come. Gunnar was leaning against the wall watching Skullette worry herself. "Everything is going to be fine Skully. There's no need to worry."

"I can't help it. Bundar is relentless. He won't let anything come in his way." Skullette said finally ceasing her pacing.

"Don't worry, dad can handle him." As soon as Hiccup allowed the words past his lips, in stormed Stoick.

Everyone jumped at his entrance but soon relaxed seeing who it was. Hiccup was the first one to greet him. "How did it go dad?" He gave Stoick his seat before getting him a cup of mead.

"Not well, He knew she was 'ere. I don't know how he knew bu' he did. I've a'ready given the order to evacuate the village. I want you three an' the others to go with them. We need someone ta protect the children an' the elderly." Stoick watched as his son readied an argument but he stopped it before it could be started. "No son, I know the dragons can help, but right now tha' is our only trump card. We use the dragons as a last resort. We are still Viking's after all." He gave them a half grin in hopes to life their spirits.

"Alright dad, just be sure that you come back." Hiccup said with a determined look on his face.

"We're Viking's. It's an occupational haz'erd." Stoick patted his son's shoulder before turning to his newly re-acquired daughter. He had nothing to say at first but Skullette could tell just by looking in his eyes how proud he was of her for facing against everything and coming back to him as well as something else she couldn't understand. "Ya look jus' like yer mother. I'm proud of ya." He looked back at Hiccup for a moment. "Of both 'a ya. Keep each other safe, I'll be back. Probably." With that he walked out leaving the teens to their jobs.

Skullette was the first to move. "Hiccup ready the dragons, Gunnar gather some supplies, I'm going up to grab the medical supplies as well as my bow and arrow. Either of you need anything?" She asked half way up the stairs.

Hiccup spoke first, 'Book of Dragons' it's under my bed."

Not hearing anything from Gunnar she continued up the stairs, while Hiccup went out to the dragons and Gunnar went about the house to get supplies.

Skullette made it to her room after going to Hiccup's and grapping the book. She quickly went to the corner where her herbs were and started packing her bag first with the books then with her jars of medicines. Once she was done with that she went to her closet grabbing the rope and placed it on top of the jars. Finally she got to the pouch in her closet. Pulling it out, she began her final work with it.

Gunnar had finished putting blankets and dishes into one bag and was now filling another with important supplies such as weapons that that he and Hiccup had brought back with them just for just such an occasion. He kept Hiccup's sword out of it figuring he would want it on him seeing as it would be too troublesome to dig through a bag when it would truly be needed.

It was at this time that Skullette made her way back down the stairs.

"Everything ready?" He asked not bothering to look at her.

"Yes, How does the harness look?" she asked as she stopped in front of him.

Finally done loading the bag he looks up and couldn't help but stare at her. She had the same outfit on but the harness fit her perfect. It kept her chest in place and it didn't move from her body in any way, instead it moved with her body and wouldn't slip. The mystery dragon symbol was placed right in the middle of her chest so that it was at an angle instead of straight like Hiccup's is.

"Looks great." he finally managed to say before Hiccup came in.

"You two ready? We need to head out, Astrid is waiting outside with Stormfly!" Hiccup said in a bit of a hurry.

They nodded, grabbed their bags and weapons before going out to meet up with Astrid and the dragons. Astrid had a bag on her back and her axe on her hip. Stormfly was waiting next to Notte, as the elders and children of the village marched past the chief's house and into the woods.

"So what's the plan Hiccup?" Astrid asked as they mounted their dragons.

The two Haddocks looked out towards the sea as similar thoughts came to mind on how this battle was going to play out. Finally Hiccup answered her, "We wait for the right time to strike. We walk with the others, flying will be too noticeable." They nodded as they followed behind the group of children and elders.

Stoick stood on the ridge of Berk overlooking the harbor. Gobber hobbled up next to him as the sun set in front of them. They could see the ships just in the distance if only just.

"Wha's the plan Stoick?" Gobber asked not taking his eyes off of the horizon.

"Stop Bundar bafore he reaches the village." Stoick announced, anger and determination in his voice. He couldn't stand what Bundar had done to his daughter. After all these years this is how he treated Skullette as if her life was meaningless. Bundar wouldn't get away with it.

Gobber had seen that look once before as they neared the Dragon's nest before Hiccup came to their rescue. "Yu're no' alone Stoick. No one will stand fer what Bundar tried ta do ta Skullette. Granted we di'n't trea' Hiccup much better till he showed us tha' dragon's arn' 'aur enemy."

"Bu' we wouldn' try ta kill him in fron' of 'aur village!" Stoick yelled at him.

Gobber stood his ground as Stoick started to turn his anger on him. "An' that is wha' he is gonna pay fer. We won' let him ge' away with wha' he tried ta do." Gobber explained trying to calm Stoick down.

Stoick turned back to the sea and glared out at the boats waiting for the signal to attack. "He won' live ta see another day." He promised.

**Ok, I'm going to leave it at that. Thank you to those that have reviewed so far. I will update soon.**


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